


The Dangers of Falling for Your Partner

by everhtorne



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Sex, Sexual Tension, Smut, Teasing, and then them getting together, god i don't even know, just like general tension between jake and amy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-16
Updated: 2014-07-21
Packaged: 2018-02-09 03:45:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 27,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1967739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/everhtorne/pseuds/everhtorne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Amy smiles gratefully and makes her way to the door. Jake follows her, trying to forget the fact that his entire body feels heavy and weak and completely consumed by his feelings for Amy freaking Santiago. </p><p>He wishes he could stop. He wishes he could just not be kind of slightly in love with his partner. </p><p>But, at the moment anyway, that seems completely impossible.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> It has gotten to the point where I have read every single JakexAmy fic on the internet and I am having way too many feels to even handle so I started writing this and I don't know. I hope you like it and I'd love to hear any feedback!

**Amy’s apartment, 1a.m.**

Even though her head is spinning so badly that she can barely focus on the scene in front of her, Amy can’t help herself from taking an unsteady step backwards. Her lower lip quivers, her face heats up in embarrassment, her hands shake. She looks down at her feet, avoiding Jake’s eyes and swallowing hard.

“Amy, don’t –”

“It’s okay,” she cuts him off, her voice croaky. “I get it.”

She blinks back hot tears.

He doesn’t want her.

* * *

**One week earlier.**

“You ready?” Amy asks Jake as she sits opposite him in the back of the stakeout van. Rosa sits to her left, Boyle on the other side of Jake.

“I was born ready,” Jake answers with a grin, opening the door of the van and hopping out into the empty street.

Amy can’t help but roll her eyes at him, ensuring that her microphone is covered up and her earpiece is in place one last time before following in the same direction.

“Just give the signal and we’ll be there,” Rosa assures her.

Amy nods gratefully, shutting the doors behind her and jogging after Jake. She doesn’t know why Captain Holt keeps insisting that they work cases together. He claims it’s because Amy and Jake make a good team but, honestly, Amy doesn’t see it. She’s pretty sure that she could handle things better alone.

Looking up, Amy notices that Jake is heading off down a different path than the one she had been intending to take.

“Where are you going?” she hisses, reluctantly trailing behind him. “The lockup is that way.”

“There’s probably a back exit,” Jake answers, staring at her wide-eyed as if she’s missing the obvious, “that doesn’t get used as much. It will be easier to get into.”

Amy purses her lips, irritated that she didn’t think of that herself.

“Okay, fine.”

Jake smiles smugly and turns back around, walking as casually as he can down the desolate alleyway. Amy stalks behind him, unable to keep the frown off of her face.

“Remember, if anyone asks we got lost looking for –”

“A strip club?” Jake suggests, arching an eyebrow.

“I was thinking more along the lines of a restaurant but whatever.”

“Why would we end up in this deserted alley if we were looking for a restaurant?” he retorts seeming unconvinced. “I think my strip club idea is more believable.”

“Why would we be going to a strip club?” Amy barks back, growing agitated.

“Will you two stop arguing,” she suddenly hears Rosa’s voice in her earpiece from where she is waiting in the stakeout van, reminding Amy of the task at hand. “You’re giving me a headache.”

“Yeah Amy,” Jake adds teasingly. “Stop starting arguments. We haven’t got time.”

Amy tries to think of a witty response to that but she’s so annoyed all she can manage is a growling exhale and a glower in Jake’s direction.

They walk for a few minutes in silence until the back exit to the warehouse – which Amy suspects is stashed with illegal drugs and wads of money – comes into view. She narrows her eyes, slowing down her pace scanning the area. There doesn’t seem to be anyone around that she can see.

“What did I tell you?” Jake breathes excitedly. “There would have been hardcore drug lords hanging around the front but back here there’s no one, not even–”

An abrupt noise from the direction of the warehouse makes Amy jump and she swiftly grabs onto Jake, pulling him against the wall beside her.

“Just be quiet,” she whispers, holding her breath.

He loses his grin and nods obediently, glancing over to where the noise came from.

There’s a slam and a shudder, like a door being thrashed open, and then a series of low voices.

“What the fuck did I tell you?” a low, gravelly voice snarls. A thick thud and a startled gasp follow his words – someone being punched, Amy suspects. She raises an eyebrow at Jake.

“I told you, I’ll get your money –” a different person replies sounding strained.

“Damn right you will,” the first voice rumbles. “Or this is done. The whole thing.”

Amy is a little confused but tries to keep up with their conversation, regardless. She hears some clanking from behind the doors and knows that she and Jake will have to get inside the warehouse in order to find out more.

“There are more inside,” she mouths to Jake, gesturing to the warehouse.

“Once they leave, we need to check it out,” he replies noiselessly, referring to the small group of men round the corner from them.

Amy nods, assuming that the violent men who stand in between them and their evidence would be returning back inside any second now.

Unfortunately, that’s not what happens.

After a gruff cough, the sound of the men’s clomping footsteps becomes clear to her. However, they don’t seem to be going back in the direction they came… it sounds like they are coming right towards where Jake and Amy are hiding. She feels her throat grow dry.

“What do we do?” she mutters in a panic, turning to face Jake.

“Do you need us to come?” Rosa asks urgently into Amy’s earpiece.

“No, you’ll blow our cover!” Amy protests quietly.

“Santiago’s right,” Jake agrees. “We need to get inside before they realise we’re cops or they’ll just take the drugs and run.”

So they can’t blow their cover otherwise it will be impossible for them to get inside the warehouse and find any evidence. But there isn’t enough time for them to run out of the alleyway before the group of thugs appears around the corner. And there is absolutely _nowhere_ to hide.

Jake glances around anxiously, his gaze finally settling on her.

“Follow my lead,” he instructs, stepping closer to her.

The thudding footsteps grow louder and louder until Amy can see the criminals appearing around the corner and heading towards them. She doesn’t get a chance to look for more than a second, though, before she is suddenly being thrown backwards; pressed against the graffiti-covered wall behind her.

“What the –” she tries to protest but she doesn’t manage to finish her sentence.

Jake wraps his arms around her, keeping her pinned to the wall, and smashes his mouth against hers before she can say another word.

“Just go with it,” he murmurs as he kisses her hungrily, mashing their lips together and exhaling his warm breath into her mouth.

Amy is too shocked to move for a second. But then she realises that it will look stupid if she doesn’t react. So she kisses him back. She runs her tongue along his chapped lips and pulls him closer, inhaling his musky scent and running a hand through his hair.

Objectively, Amy knows that Jake is only doing this so that they’re cover doesn’t get blown. So that the men walk past them and think that they’re a horny couple rather than a pair of cops. However, in the heat of the moment, she can’t help getting a little lost in his kiss. And, much to her irritation, it’s _good_. He’s good at it. He offers the exact right amount of pressure and doesn’t overwhelm her with his tongue. She has never really thought about it (well, at least not a _lot_ ), but Jake Peralta is definitely a better kisser than she had imagined.

Jake snakes his arm around her waist and runs his hand down along her side, grabbing her ass and pushing his entire body against hers. Amy hears herself gasp and a small sound that scarily resembles a groan emits her mouth.

 _This is so wrong,_ she thinks to herself in horror _, this is so, so wrong._

But it feels so _good._

Amy’s hand wraps around Jake’s back, sliding over the worn leather of his jacket. He reacts to her touch, kissing the side of her mouth and along her jaw.

A poorly supressed snicker in her ear suddenly reminds Amy of the situation that she’s currently in.

“Uh, Jake I think they’re gone,” Boyle’s voice makes her jump and she quickly take a step away from Jake. Amy takes a few deep breaths and gulps. “Yep, they’re definitely gone. The exit is all clear for you now,” Boyle confirms.

Amy wipes her mouth and clears her throat, nodding.

“Right.”

“But thanks for the porn show,” Rosa adds, still laughing slightly. “This case was starting to suck but just made it ten times better.”

Amy can feel her cheeks blazing red. She had completely forgotten that – _obviously_ – the rest of the backup team could hear everything that was going on. She reassures herself with the fact that, thankfully, they couldn’t _see_ anything.

“Come on, let’s catch these guys,” Jake pulls her out of her trance as he runs off towards the exit of the warehouse, seeming completely unaffected.

Amy jogs after him, slightly breathlessly, hoping that he couldn’t tell how mortifyingly into the kiss she had been just a moment ago.

She shakes her head as she hastily follows Jake, praying desperately that she isn’t developing feelings for her stupid, childish, annoying, kind of attractive, talented-at-kissing, super lame partner.

* * *

**Two days before.**

Jake has known Charles for a long time now but he’s never had to deal with a case of full-Boyle being this quite bad before.

It’s proving to be a lot more difficult to deal with this time around – not just because Boyle’s infatuation with Vivian is dangerously hard to control – but because Jake himself is so preoccupied with other things that he can barely focus on looking after Boyle.

Unfortunately for him, something that Jake has discovered recently is that in almost one hundred percent of situations where he gets stuck on a case is due to him being distracted by his dorky, unassuming partner.

It’s driving him crazy.

He never in a million years thought that he would fall for someone like Amy – she is uptight and _nothing_ like the girls that he usually dates.

But he just can’t _help_ it.

Ever since the kiss that they shared in order to make sure that their cover didn’t get blown, he hasn’t been able to get her out of his head. The way her lips melted against his, the soft gasps that she kept making, her fingers stroking down his neck. It was… insane. It was hot. He wants to do it again.

“Hey there Charles,” Jake addresses Boyle, forcing himself to help his friend and face his Santiago dilemma another day. He needs to stop thinking about her before he explodes. “I thought maybe we should have a little chat about how crazy you’re acting and how you’re blowing this beyond repair.”

It’s obvious that he’s referring to Boyle’s irrational behaviour towards Vivian but Jake can’t help the words reminding him a little of himself. He still can’t believe he kissed Amy. What was he thinking? He doesn’t regret it but… he’s still not sure that it was the smartest thing to do.

Boyle sighs exasperatedly at Jake’s words; still completely in denial. Jake is about to continue when he suddenly hears Amy’s voice from behind him and he forgets all about what he had been about to say.

“Are you really qualified to give romantic advice?” she asks, sauntering over after overhearing his and Boyle’s conversation.

Jake can’t help but think that she’s been avoiding him since the kiss; she says hello to him in the mornings and answers his direct questions but she hasn’t particularly shown any interest in having a friendly chat. And Jake can understand why – he may have been a bit too full on when they were kissing. He accidentally let himself forget for a second that they were undercover and convinced himself that when she brushed her tongue on his it was because she _wanted_ to, not because she _had_ to.

So he’s more than a little surprised when she marches over to Boyle’s desk and stands opposite him with her arms folded and her eyebrows raised, waiting for an answer to her question.

“Excuse me?” is all Jake can think of to say.

“I mean, you’re not exactly the king of mature relationships,” she finishes.

Jake just blows off her comment, waving a hand in her direction dismissively.

“I fail to see how you can comment on _my_ relationships,” he replies, pointing out that, “the last date you went on was with _me_ because you lost a bet.”

The corners of Amy’s mouth pull down into a frown. It’s adorable.

“How do you know I haven’t been on a date since that stupid one you forced me to go on?”

Jake looks at her, unable to hide his smirk.

“Have you?” he prompts.

“Well… no,” Amy admits dejectedly. “But I could have.”

Even though he knows it’s a worrying thought to have, he can’t help but be glad that she isn’t dating anyone. Of course, it doesn’t mean that he stands a chance but it makes him feel a little better all the same.

“I am more than qualified to assist Boyle with his relationship problems –” Jake continues in protest.

“My relationship has no problems!” Boyle insists.

Amy shrugs, looking slightly amused.

“You sure about that? I think Boyle might be better off alone.”

“Now I’m just insulted,” Jake answers, deadpan.

Amy rolls her eyes and tries (unsuccessfully) to hide her smile, holding her hands up in defeat.

“Fine. Do what you want. Just don’t come running to me when you mess it all up.”

She turns and walks away without another word; her hair flicking over her shoulder, her hips swaying and her shoes clicking against the panelled floor. Jake watches in captivation, Boyle’s problems leaving his mind for a moment. All he can do is watch Amy hopelessly and try to stop his mouth from hanging open.

Yep. There’s no denying it. He’s definitely falling for her.

And it’s definitely going to end badly.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Amy’s apartment, 12.30 a.m.**

Amy doesn’t know why she drank so much. She _hates_ being drunk, especially around her work colleagues. They always mock her when she drinks because they think she’s incapable of having fun.

She tries not to think about how stupid she’s been as she feels Jake’s arm around her waist; his grip is tight and his skin is warm against hers. She leans into him. He smells faintly of smoke and his usual musky cologne. She smiles as she inhales.

“You smell nice,” she comments absent-mindedly.

She feels Jake laughing under her.

“Oh, I should definitely be filming this.”

Amy thinks he’s making a joke at her expense but her brain is too muddled to care. So instead she just laughs with him and enjoys the sound of his voice.

* * *

**Three days before.**

Jake didn’t think that there was anything Amy could do to make him like her any more than he does and then Holt’s Birthday party comes along and changes everything.

He arrives late (despite the Sarge warning him not to), announcing his apology as soon as he joins the group of his fellow workmates who are gathered outside Holt’s porch.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he says, catching his breath. “I am three –” he checks his watch, “ –ty five minutes late. Yikes!”

He is about to make some kind of lame joke about his lateness but then his eyes snag on Amy who is standing not too far from him, frowning at him in disapproval. She barely ever wears much makeup to the precinct but tonight it looks like she’s pulling out all the stops to impress Captain Holt. Her pouty lips are painted the same red as the colour of her dress which he can see peeking out the top of her buttoned-up coat. He tries not to stare at her mouth, _honestly_ he does, but her frown means that the corners of her lips are curled downwards in the most infuriatingly adorable manner.

“What did I say about being on time?” Terry exclaims in frustration, taking a deep breath to calm himself.

“I had to –”

“I don’t want to hear it,” the Sarge speaks over Jake, who had been planning to explain that he had made a wine stop on the way over. “Let’s go inside. And remember everyone: be appropriate.”

Jake watches in amusement as Amy nods to herself, looking focused and determined as if she were psyching herself up for a football match or something. Boyle nods too, following the Sargent up the steps and through Holt’s front door. The rest of the Nine-Nine crew trail behind.

“It’s so beautiful,” he hears Amy murmur as she steps over the threshold.

Rosa keeps her arms folded across her chest as she glances around seeming unimpressed. Jake has to admit, it’s a pretty nice place. But it doesn’t hold his attention for long.

He can’t keep his eyes off of Amy.

She’s too distracted by checking out Holt’s house as she slowly pulls her jacket off to notice him staring. Jake can’t remember the last time he saw her in a dress. The red gown she has on makes him feel slightly dizzy.

Her eyes are lit up in awe as she sweeps the room, her mouth hanging open slightly in excitement. She looks so perfectly perfect. It’s completely unfair.

Jake knows that it makes him sound kind of gross and sleazy but he can’t help noticing how Amy’s dress hugs her curves in all the right places; it’s tight enough around her waist and bust to make him shiver lustfully but the high neckline means that enough of her is covered up to provide him with a sense of curiosity.

Jake suddenly feels his body tense and his blood rush southwards. He clears his throat and quickly averts his eyes from Amy’s direction so that she doesn’t notice how embarrassingly turned on he is by seeing her in one simple outfit.

She turns to him with a bewildered smile and raises her eyebrows.

“It’s pretty, huh?” she asks, gesturing to the enormity of Holt’s house which surrounds them.

Jake doesn’t take his eyes off her when he answers.

“It’s more than pretty.”

* * *

Amy can’t quite believe how nice the Captain’s house is. Sure, she had been expecting fancy but this is… _fancy_. She stares at the high ceilings and framed artwork and chandelier style lighting.

She can feel Jake’s eyes on her as she examines the place. She tries to pretend that she doesn’t notice it but it’s kind of distracting. What is he staring at her for anyway? Has she got something on her face? She double-checks that her dress isn’t tucked into her underwear.

Nope. Everything seems to be as it’s meant to.

Before she can ask Jake why he’s looking at her so intently, Holt appears with who she can only assume to be Kevin and greets them.

“Captain!” she exclaims in elation.

“I’d like you to meet my husband, Kevin,” Holt replies, nodding towards the man on his left.

“It’s so nice to finally meet you,” Amy chirps in response with the brightest smile she can muster. She knows it’s a little over the top but she _really_ wants the Captain and his husband to like her.

The rest of the Nine-Nine murmur similar replies but she isn’t paying them too much attention. Jake is still looking at her. Why is he doing that? She feels her cheeks warm up self-consciously.

“Likewise,” Kevin replies with a small smile. “Anyway, we’d better go and mingle. Help yourself to food.”

Amy nods enthusiastically as the pair turn to leave, taking a breath to calm her nerves.

“They didn’t even take my wine,” Jake whinges.

Amy looks down at the bottle in his hand and suddenly has an idea.

“Why don’t I take it for you?” she suggests, pulling the wine out of his grip.

“Take it where?” Jake asks in confusion.

“I’m going to keep an eye on Gina,” Rosa is abruptly beside Amy, muttering to her. “Make sure Peralta doesn’t do anything stupid.”

Amy tries not to laugh.

“I’m on it.”

“Hey, I don’t need babysitting!” Jake protests to Rosa but she walks away without acknowledging his comment.

Amy looks around and realises that the squad have already split up; Charles has headed over to the food (naturally), Rosa is, as promised, sticking with Gina, Hitchcock and Scully are sitting on the couch and Terry has started a conversation with a couple of professor-looking guys. That just leaves her and Jake.

“Okay, I’m taking this to the kitchen,” she tells him gesturing to the wine bottle and heading in the direction she thinks will take her there.

“Why don’t you just leave it on the table?” Jake suggests, his eyebrows pulled together.

“Because…” Amy trails off trying to come up with an excuse. “Because –”

“ _Oh_!” he interrupts. “I get it! You want to go and stalk Holt. Right?”

“No!” she defends quickly. She sighs straight afterwards though so it’s fairly easy to tell that she’s lying. “Okay fine,” she admits. “I just want to have a look around. Is that really so bad?”

Without waiting for him to respond, she continues walking towards the kitchen, expertly manoeuvring her way through throngs of guests.

“Amy!” she hears Jake hissing after her as he tries to keep up.

She reaches the kitchen a second later. It’s just as impressive as the rest of the house – sparklingly polished surfaces and tile flooring. Amy puts the wine down on the nearest counter and opens the cupboard next to her, feeling a smile work its way onto her face as she inspects the contents. It’s perfectly ordered, just like her own cupboards at home.

Jake appears behind her a second later but she barely notices him, making her way through the Captain’s cabinets to see what type of food he likes.

“Amy, you’re acting crazy,” Jake points out as he follows her around the room.

She disregards his comment, pulling her phone out to jot down some notes.

“They make their own hummus!”

Jake rolls his eyes, staying close to her as she makes her way around the room.

“Why are you following me?” Amy asks him absently as she realises that she and Holt have the same microwave. “I knew we had a lot in common!” she mumbles to herself.

“I am just making sure you don’t do anything criminally insane,” Jake explains.

Amy processes Jake’s words and blinks a couple of times.

“Wait… _you’re_ babysitting _me_?”

Jake grins.

“I guess I am.”

“No!” Amy retorts. “Rosa left me in change of _you_. You’re the one who’s a liability. Not me.”

Jake snatches Amy’s phone from her hand, and holds it high in the air so she can’t grab it back.

“ _Learn how to make hummus_ ,” he reads from her list of notes, arching an eyebrow. “Admit it, Amy. You sound like some kind of stalker.”

“No I don’t,” Amy objects sternly.

Jake just glares at her with raised eyebrows.

“I _don’t_.”

He shakes his head, clearly believing that she is in denial. She is _not_ in denial.

At least not about Holt.

* * *

“Have you seen Santiago?” Jake asks Boyle as she scans the room for a ridiculously pretty Latina girl in a red dress. He swears, he only took his eye off of her for two seconds to get some food and she’s disappeared.

“Why do you need her?” Boyle replies, putting on his a-few-octaves-too-high insinuating voice.

Jake sighs in exasperation. Whenever he brings up Amy recently, Boyle always tries to make out that Jake likes her.

“Rosa told me to look out for her tonight,” he lies.

Boyle stares at Jake pointedly as if he doesn’t believe him at all.

“Why don’t you just tell her how you feel?” he puts forward instead of answering the original question.

Jake throws his hands in the air infuriatedly, taking a breath to calm himself. He doesn’t want Boyle to know that he likes Amy. It makes the situation even more awkward than it already is.

“I’ll go look for her myself,” he finally decides, turning and storming away from Boyle.

Jake _isn’t_ looking for Amy because he likes her and wants another chance to look at her in her dress. He is looking for her because he wants to make sure that she isn’t doing anything mental.

Right?

He doesn’t exactly convince himself that what he’s saying is true but before he can argue internally any longer, he catches sees a flash of red out the corner of his eye and swiftly follows it.

It’s Amy – of course. Lurking by the staircase. He lingers behind a small crowd of people so that she can’t see him.

What the hell is she doing?

In that same second, she quickly glances around and slips under the sign reading ‘Please Stay Downstairs’ which is blocking the entrance to the upper level.

“Dammit,” he breathes to himself.

He knows he shouldn’t be surprised – this is _Amy_. Once she puts her mind to something, she will stop at _nothing_ before she achieves it. In this case, she wants to completely disrespect Holt’s privacy in order to learn more about his personal life.

Jake finds himself wanting to laugh. No one but Amy Santiago would even try to do something this crazy.

With the same sense of subtlety that Amy had employed, Jake waits until no one is looking in his direction before jumping over the sign forbidding him to go upstairs. He jogs to the top, looking left and right down the landing. There’s a white-painted wooden door hanging slightly ajar.

Marching over to it and creeping inside he sees that it’s Holt’s bedroom. Amy is standing in the centre of the room with her back to him, holding a bedside lamp upside down and inspecting the label printed on the bottom of it.

Jake does his best impression of Captain Holt.

“Detective Santiago,” he says lowly and sternly in the Captain’s voice.

She spins around instantly, almost dropping the lamp.

“Sir –” her eyes are wide and terrified. “Damn it, Peralta!” she growls when she sees that it’s only Jake.

He laughs quietly.

“But seriously Amy, what would have done if it was Holt?”

“I…” she doesn’t finish her sentence.

“Exactly,” Jake confirms. “You have no reason to be up here! Come on. Let’s go back down to the party.”

“I can’t just waste this opportunity!” she tells him, almost begging. Jake can barely focus on what she’s saying when she makes that face. That stupid, pleading, cute face. “I barely know anything about him. How are we going to bond if he won’t open up to me?”

Jake slaps a hand to his forehead in frustration.

“Do you not hear how mental you sound?” he cries. “Now put the lamp down so we can go downstairs.”

Amy stands a little taller, setting her jaw adamantly and raising her chin.

“No.”

“Come on, Amy.”

“No. I’m not leaving.”

“Yes you are,” Jake snaps, walking over to where she stands. “Hand me the lamp.” He holds his hand out, waiting.

“No. I won’t.”

“Give it to me!” he repeats, reaching forwards to grab it from her.

“Get off me Peralta!” she struggles to pull it away from him.

“Give it!” Jake grunts, yanking the lamp towards himself. His hands wrap around Amy’s and he tries to pretend like it doesn’t make his heart beat in double time.

“Never!”

“This is for your own good!”

Jake practically has Amy pressed up against the wall by this point. She steps on his foot with her deadly heels and he recoils, shooting her a hurt expression.

“Hey, there’s no need to be mean!” he frowns.

Amy opens her mouth to answer quickly shuts it again as a couple of voices appear outside the door, getting louder.

“It’s Holt!” Amy gasps. “What do we do?”

“Put the lamp down!” Jake exclaims in a whisper.

 _Finally_ she does as he asks. But now what? The voices get closer.

“Quick!” Amy decides, dropping to the ground and dragging Jake with her without giving him a choice. “Under the bed.”

“What?!” Jake questions her as if she’s gone mental.

There’s only a small gap under the bed – enough to maybe fit them both but it’s going to be a ridiculously difficult squeeze. Amy goes first, lying on her back and wiggling across so that there’s enough space for Jake. He reluctantly follows her lead, rolling underneath and making sure that his entire body is covered.

“Get your hands off me,” Amy hisses.

In the darkness he can just about make out her face just a few millimetres next to his.

“I’m not touching you!” he replies.

The bedroom door suddenly swings open, Holt and Kevin continuing their conversation as they stroll inside.

Amy jumps in surprise as they enter and flinches, kicking Jake in the shin.

“Ow!” he whispers.

“Shh!”

“I just want you to enjoy your Birthday,” Kevin explains to Holt.

Then, without warning, the two men sit down on the bed, side by side. The mattress sinks lower, pressing against Jake’s nose.

“Shit,” he mouths to Amy, almost being suffocated by the fabric pushing onto his face.

She stares at him in panic.

“Don’t move,” she murmurs.

“I _can’t_ move.” He rolls his eyes.

Amy tries to breathe silently; he can see her chest rising and falling rapidly next to him.

“I know,” Holt answers Kevin above them. “And I am. Thank you for arranging this with me. I know you prefer it when we celebrate alone –”

“It’s my pleasure,” Kevin cuts him off, a smile in his voice.

As happy as Jake is that they’re having a good night, he wishes they would move, sharpish.

“I know these things aren’t really your scene,” Holt continues. “I just thought you might want to come up here for a breather.”

“I’m _fine_ ,” Kevin insists. “This is your night, remember?”

Jake turns his head towards Amy; their noses almost touching. The two men continue their conversation but Jake isn’t particularly listening. He can’t focus on anything other than Amy’s flustered expression, her eyes wide and unblinking. They’re so close together; practically pressed against one another. It makes him nervous.

“How long are they going to stay here?” Jake mouths to her.

She shrugs helplessly, a small frown on her face.

“What?” Jake asks.

“I’m sorry for acting crazy tonight,” she breathes mutely. Holt and Kevin are too into their own conversation to hear their hushed whispers. “I’m sorry for dragging you into this.”

Jake just smiles.

“An apology? From Amy Santiago?” he teases.

She shakes her head in annoyance but Jake can see the shadow of a smile playing on her lips.

“It’s fine,” he adds in answer to her statement. “It’s made tonight a bit more interesting, at least.”

The conversation from above them draws to a close. There’s a brief moment of silence where Amy and Jake collectively hold their breaths.

“I suppose we should get back,” Kevin decides after a moment. “The guests will be wondering where we’ve got to.”

“Yes,” Holt agrees.

They both stand up again and the mattress lifts off of Jake’s face, much to his relief.

He knows it’s stupid, but Jake almost doesn’t want the Captain to leave. Even though hiding under his bed is far from comfortable or convenient, it’s kind of nice, in a sense. He can feel Amy’s warm breath on his cheek, her hand gripping his arm in anxiousness.

Jake waits until Holt and Kevin walk out and the bedroom door closes behind them. Then he smiles over at Amy and sees that she’s smiling too.

“That was close,” she notes, not moving.

“Too close,” he settles.

A few beats of silence follow.

“This is the first time I’ve ever hidden under a guy’s bed,” Amy observes.

“It’s probably the first time you’ve been in a guy’s bedroom at all,” Jake mocks.

“Shut up, Peralta,” she gapes, elbowing him in the side.

“Kidding,” he assures her with a grin.

Amy tries to keep her expression stern but fails miserably and ends up laughing. Jake watches the movement of her red lips and notices how her eyes crinkle slightly.

 _Now would be the perfect opportunity to kiss her_ , Jake’s subconscious points out to him. But then Amy lets go of his arm and clears her throat.

“I guess we should head back down,” she declares, sliding herself out from under the bed.

Jake nods reluctantly, clambering to his feet and brushing himself off. Amy does the same; smoothing down her dress and dabbing at her lipstick.

“Does my hair look okay?” she checks with him.

“Your hair looks great,” he guarantees her with a thumbs-up.

Amy smiles gratefully and makes her way to the door. Jake follows her, trying to forget the fact that his entire body feels heavy and weak and completely consumed by his feelings for Amy freaking Santiago.

He wishes he could stop. He wishes he could just _not_ be kind of slightly in love with his partner.

But, at the moment anyway, that seems completely impossible.


	3. Chapter 3

**One day before**

Jake sighs as he slumps over and rests his head on the table in front of him. He’s been sitting in the break room for what feels like hours, trying to sort through all of this wedding stuff that Boyle left him in charge of. The table is cool against his cheek and his eyes drift shut. Jake allows himself to imagine that he’s somewhere else right now rather than stuck in the small room that he is; maybe at home sleeping or maybe even with –

“What are you doing?” Amy’s voice is suddenly beside him, making him sit up with a start.

“What?”

“What are you doing?” she repeats, raising her eyebrows and placing her coffee mug down on the counter beside her. “You’ve been in here for ages.”

Jake rolls his eyes.

“I know. It’s this stupid wedding stuff Boyle’s making me do,” he explains quickly, gesturing down to the stacks of paper and pamphlets and fabric samples that are spread across the table.

Amy nods sympathetically and Jake actually looks at her properly this time. Her hair is pulled back into a ponytail today. She’s wearing her usual grey pantsuit with a pale pink shirt. He likes the pink. It makes her skin look pretty.

“I see,” she says, sitting down in the free seat next to him. “Well I’ve got nothing on at the moment,” she offers with a small shrug, “if you want some help.”

Jake turns and stares at her for a second, narrowing his eyes distrustfully.

“Why are you offering to help me with something?” he asks in suspicion.

Usually Amy would love to watch him struggle with a task that he is terrible at. In this case: choosing the right material for Boyle’s napkins.

She just laughs.

“Okay, as much as I would enjoy leaving you to try and figure this all out by yourself, I’m worried that Charles’ wedding is going to be a complete disaster,” she confesses.

Jake gapes in mock outrage, placing a hand over his heart.

“Are you saying that I am not capable of planning a wedding?”

“Come on, Peralta. We all know that you hate planning _anything_ , let alone something as massive as a wedding. You’re completely disorganised –”

“Alright, alright, no need to attack me,” he shakes his head.

“I’m just saying,” Amy defends, holding her hands up, “you might need a bit of help.”

Jake purses his lips and sniffs.

“As kind as your offer is, I am going to have to decline.”

“What?” Amy’s eyebrows knit together.

Dammit, why does she always manage to look adorable, no matter what face she’s pulling? It’s really starting to get on Jake’s nerves. His self-control crumbles a little more every time he sees her.

“I am perfectly capable of choosing napkins and little sheets of paper –” he waves a handful of fabric samples in her face to prove his point, “–all by myself.”

“Jake –”

“Thanks but no thanks.”

Jake knows he’s being stubborn and stupid but he refuses to change his mind about this. He can’t have Amy thinking that he needs her help to do something. He is pretty reluctant to give up his reputation as a lone wolf.

“Fine,” Amy replies, looking faintly amused. “I’ll just sit here and mind my own business then.”

“Do what you want,” Jake retorts. “It’s a free country.”

He sees Amy trying not to smile and it makes his throat grow dry. Ignoring her, he returns his attention to the matter at hand. There are about fifty samples of fabric that Boyle wants Jake to choose from; all in different shades of white. At least they all look white to Jake.

But according to the guidebook, there’s ivory, cream, pearl, seashell, champagne, pebble, snow, starlight and just about every other pretentious name for white he can think of.

Jake grabs the two samples closest to him and places them side by side, trying to decide which one he prefers. It’s so stupid! He can’t even tell them apart.

“This is impossible!” he groans, letting them slip from his grip. “They all look the same.”

Amy smirks at him.

“It’s been scientifically proven that women have better colour perception than men. So if you want some help…” she trails off smugly.

“Are you trying to tell me that you can see a different between these?” he asks, pointing down at the table.

“Yes.”

Jake can’t tell if she’s mocking him or not.

“Fine,” he says. “Which one would you choose?”

Amy shoots him a pointed look as if it’s obvious.

“This one,” she concludes, picking up one of the many white fabric samples. “Vivian is probably going to wear an ivory dress so this would look best. And then the Save The Dates –” she reaches across Jake to grab the pile of cards “–should be this cream colour. Because otherwise everything will be too samey. But cream and ivory complement each other so there won’t be a clash –”

Amy looks up at Jake slightly self-consciously when she realises that she’s rambling. Jake doesn’t mind. He thinks it’s cute.

“How do you know all this?” he inquires in confusion.

“I don’t _really_ …” Amy shrugs, brushing off his comment.

“Don’t lie to me Amy Santiago,” Jake orders, looking at her sternly.

Amy rolls her eyes but answers him anyway.

“I always liked to plan what my wedding would be like when I was younger,” she confesses, looking down at her hands.

Jake can’t help the snort of laughter that escapes his life.

“Seriously?”

“Don’t laugh at me!” Amy demands, shoving him slightly. “I thought that was what all kids did.”

“ _I_ didn’t,” Jake assures her.

She rolls her eyes at him.

“Maybe it’s different for girls.”

“Or maybe you’re just crazy,” he suggests.

“But then again,” Amy continues, disregarding Jake’s comment, “I always thought I would be settled by now. A nice long term boyfriend. A big house. You know?”

Jake just blinks at her a few times. At that moment, Rosa walks in and tosses her coffee mug into the sink.

“Why is there lame wedding stuff all over the table?” she demands.

“Boyle left me in change of this –” Jake starts.

“But I’m helping,” Amy adds chirpily.

“Whatever,” Rosa responds, turning to leave. “Weddings are dumb.”

“Weddings aren’t dumb!” Amy calls after her protectively.

Jake just laughs at her, saying, “told you.”

Amy shoves him again.

* * *

**Tactical Village Day**

Amy can’t help noticing that Jake is acting weirdly today.

Sure, he usually behaves like an overexcited child on tactical village day, but today he’s taking it to the extreme. After the strange reunion with her old friend Teddy from the 82nd precinct, Jake’s been shooting her odd looks constantly. She gets the feeling that Jake isn’t Teddy’s biggest fan.

And now that Teddy’s team have broken the course record, of course, Jake has become obsessed with beating them.

“We’ve never made a perfect run before,” Amy points out to Jake as they prepare to enter the building and start the clock.

She always loves this part the best. She is simultaneously nervous and pumped with adrenaline at the same time.

“That doesn’t mean we can’t do it now,” Jake replies defensively.

She doesn’t say anything back but can’t help feeling that Jake wants to break the record to annoy Teddy rather than anything else.

Terry gathers the team around him, letting them know what they are about to walk into.

“It’s a hostage situation,” Terry explains.

“Okay everyone, you know the drill,” Jake announces. “Take out the perps, rescue the hostages.”

“Yes,” Terry agrees. “But this is an active shooter situation. Diaz and Boyle, I want you on perimeter security.”

Rosa nods, looking straight ahead. Amy can feel her heart hammering in her chest in anticipation.

“Peralta and Santiago, you’re the assault team,” Terry continues.

Amy’s eyes flicker to Jake as she hears that they’re paired together. It’s an obvious choice really; they’re partners and they seem to do better together. She takes a breath as the Sarge finishes with his orders.

 _You got this_ , Amy psyches herself, tapping her foot against the floor impatiently.

“Everyone ready?” Terry calls out. The team glance at each other and nod. “Okay,” he presses down on his stopwatch, “go!”

Amy digs her heels into the ground and takes off in a sprint up the stairs. With each step she takes, she feels the desire to break the course record getting stronger and stronger. Even though it would be kind of unfair to the Eight-Two, it would be _amazing_ for the Nine-Nine to achieve something like setting a new course record.

“We’re gonna do this,” she pants to Jake as they head down an empty corridor. “Go team Nine-Nine!”

He points at her and grins massively.

“Yes! There’s the Amy Santiago I love!”

Amy smiles to herself and takes after him running.

* * *

“We did _not_!” Amy squeals, grabbing Jake’s arm in excitement.

Terry tells the squad that they’ve broken the course record and Amy can barely believe it. Her mouth hangs open and her eyes widen.

The Nine-Nine. A course record. _What_?!

“I knew we could do it!” Jake cheers as they begin to exit the training centre. “Go team Nine-Nine!” he hollers, grinning over at Amy and repeating her words from earlier.

Amy can’t keep the smile off of her face.

“I have to admit, Peralta,” she shakes her head at him in happiness; “I was impressed by how you handled those last few kills.”

It’s true. The way he had gone into the room without waiting for backup, shooting the perps and successfully saving the hostages by pretending to surrender. It was smart. Amy is still slightly awestruck by Jake’s performance today. Although she won’t ever admit it to him, he really _is_ a great cop.

Jake bows over-exaggeratedly in front of Amy, smirking.

“Why thank you Detective Santiago.”

She laughs at his antics, turning abruptly when she feels a hand on her arm.

“Hey, Amy.”

“Teddy!” she says in surprise when she sees her old friend standing there.

She turns her head and sees the rest of the squad waiting for her in the doorway. She waves them off, mouthing that she’ll be one minute.

“Congrats on setting the course record,” Teddy applauds her although he doesn’t really seem that pleased about it. “Who would have thought the Nine-Nine would have a perfect run?”

Amy can’t help noticing that it’s more of a backhanded compliment. Is he saying that the Eight-Two are better than the Nine-Nine? She doesn’t care enough to argue.

“Thanks! It feels pretty great.”

Teddy scratches the back of his neck.

“So I was wondering if you maybe wanted to go out. Tonight. For dinner or something.”

Amy almost winces when she thinks back to the brief time that they dated. It had seemed like such a fairytale back then but now she sees that she was just young and stupid.

“Uh, I don’t think I can,” she answers. “The team are going out for celebratory drinks.” She shrugs as if it’s something she can’t get out of.

“Oh, right. Maybe another time then?” Teddy presses. “Are you free at the weekend?”

Amy clears her throat awkwardly, wondering what she has to do to let Teddy know that she’s not interested.

“Actually, Teddy, I’m sort of seeing someone at the moment,” she lies.

_What are you doing?_

“Oh, you are? Sorry, I had no idea,” Teddy doesn’t look like he’s entirely convinced.

“Yeah,” Amy nods.

“Who is it?”

She blinks.

“What?”

“Who are you dating?”

Amy opens her mouth and shuts it again. _The only way to get Teddy off your back is to make him believe you’re unavailable._

“Um, my partner,” she replies, trying to keep a straight face. “Jake.”

She doesn’t even know why she said Jake. He’s the first person that popped into her head.

“That Peralta guy?” Teddy inquires, his eyebrows rising. “I never had you two down as a couple.”

“Yeah, well.” Amy doesn’t know what to say. She can feel her face heating up in embarrassment but she has no idea why. “I guess I’ll see you around then.”

“Uh – okay,” Teddy stutters.

She turns and leaves before he can ask her any more questions.

* * *

It’s late.

Amy would usually be home by this time, sitting in front of CSI or reading a book. But not tonight. Tonight she’s somehow been convinced to go to the bar with her work colleagues to celebrate their earlier win. And not only that – she’s also been persuaded to throw back drink after drink and stay out with the squad until the sky outside is dark and the bar is almost empty.

“Okay, here’s one,” Jake exclaims animatedly, waving his half-full pilsner in the air, “what is the weirdest thing you’ve ever done in the bedroom?”

Amy immediately rolls her eyes at his question. Rosa purses her lips in thought and Amy wonders what’s going through her mind.

Everyone else has gone home by this point. Boyle left pretty early to spend the night with Vivian, Terry had to get home to say goodnight to his daughters and Gina got her flirt on with some guy almost as soon as she entered the bar. Amy saw them making out in the corner about an hour ago.

“Too many to list,” Rosa finally decides.

Amy is impressed by how well Rosa can hold her liquor. She’s been sipping on whiskey for most of the night and seems completely fine. Amy, on the other hand, has been feeling celebratory so has consumed countless vodka and coke’s and is starting to see double. Now she thinks of it actually, Amy feels unsteady on her feet; her throat burns from the alcohol and her stomach is churning like she might be sick.

Her sense of rationality is long-gone. The part of her brain that usually censors her words has apparently gone to sleep – she seems to be unable to control anything that she says.

“I once had a guy ask me if he could sing while we had sex,” Amy offers.

“Wait,” Jake gasps, “you’re not a virgin?”

Amy punches him in the arm.

“Did you let him?” Rosa asks.

“Well I couldn’t say _no_ ,” Amy hangs her head in embarrassment. Jake and Rosa laugh and, even though Amy doesn’t find it that funny, she joins in too. “What about you, Peralta?”

“Oh, man. Where do I even begin? I already told you about Doctor Rossi, the crazy medical examiner who was into some weird stuff. Then there was –”

“I don’t know if I want to hear this,” Amy butts in, pulling a face.

“Me either,” Rosa adds. She glances at her phone to check on the time. “It’s pretty late. I think I’m gonna go.”

“But we’re having so much _fun_!” Amy protests, her words slurring slightly.

Rosa throws a sideways glance in Jake’s direction. Amy can’t tell what it means exactly but she doesn’t waste time thinking about it.

“I’ll see you guys later,” Rosa says, not bothering to answer Amy’s statement.

“See you Monday,” Jake waves.

“Make sure Santiago doesn’t do anything stupid,” Rosa instructs Jake.

Amy pouts in annoyance.

“Do anything stupid,” she repeats. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

But even as she speaks she can hear how off her own voice sounds. How much has she had to drink again? She can’t remember. Who cares, anyway? The song that’s playing is one of her favourites. She smiles distractedly and starts mouthing the lyrics.

“I’m on it,” Jake answers Rosa’s order.

Rosa nods once, turns and walks away. She exits the bar in the next minute. Amy just watches Rosa as she goes, noticing how her black curls bounce with every step she takes. Amy wishes _her_ hair would do that.

“You alright?” Jake asks Amy, nudging her.

Amy takes a moment to consider his question. In all honesty, she has no idea if she’s alright. She feels kind of nauseous and tired and jumpy all at the same time.

“We should do shots!” Amy cries excitedly, out of the blue.

Jake frowns at her.

“Uh, no we shouldn’t. You’ve had enough to drink for one night.”

“You’re so boring, Peralta.”

“Wow,” Jake mutters. “Never thought I’d be hearing that from _you_.”

“Please,” Amy begs, “just a few rounds of shots and then we can leave. I promise it will be fun!”

She bounces up and down on her barstool slightly, grinning at Jake to try and persuade him. He laughs at her enthusiasm but doesn’t look like he’s going to change his mind.

“No, I really think it’s time you went home,” Jake decides, getting to his feet and wiping his hands on his jeans.

“I don’t need you to look after me, you know,” Amy remarks, staring at him.

“Actually, I think you do,” Jake disputes. “Come on, we’re leaving now.”

“Ugh,” Amy grunts but gets up from her chair anyway. She’s awkwardly unsteady on her feet; she wobbles immediately and then struggles to walk in a straight line.

Jake’s hand is on her arm, pulling her towards the door. His grip is strong and he makes sure that he’s not walking too fast which is kind of nice.

Once they get outside, Amy is kind of thankful that Jake made her leave. It’s quiet outside – no loud music or glasses clinking or rowdy conversations. The air is cool against her uncharacteristically hot skin.

“So where should we go now?” Amy murmurs to Jake, still clinging to his arm. “You wanna go to a club?”

Jake snorts with laughter and shakes his head, leading them across the empty road.

“Oh man, I wish regular Amy was as fun as drunk Amy,” he chortles. “But, in answer to your question, _no_ I do not want to go clubbing. I want to get you home before you say or do something you regret.”

“Why would I do something I regret?” Amy replies, offended. “I’ll have you know I’m completely in control of my actions –”

At that moment, she trips on the sidewalk and stumbles forward a few steps, grabbing onto the wall beside her to steady herself.

“Sure you are,” Jake nods, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “Completely in control.”

“I _am_ ,” Amy insists.

Jake doesn’t comment any further but offers her his arm once more and begins to guide her down the street. Amy knows that her apartment isn’t far from here but she isn’t entirely sure which way to go. Her mind is too disarrayed to produce any kind of coherent directions.

“Are you taking me home?” she asks quietly after a little while of silent walking.

“Yep.”

“Okay,” she sighs.

Amy’s grateful that Jake’s looking out for her, sure, but she doesn’t really _want_ to go home. When she’s at home she’s usually bored and lonely. She wishes she could stay out with Jake for longer.

“You know earlier,” she says, all of a sudden, “when I was talking to Teddy?”

Jake arches a sceptical eyebrow.

“What about it?”

“He was asking me out,” she informs him.

Amy doesn’t know what kind of reaction she’s hoping for. She doesn’t even know why she’s telling him, really. Is she trying to make him jealous?

“What? Like _that_ guy has a chance with you,” Jake scoffs.

A small groove forms between Amy’s eyebrows in confusion.

“What does that mean?”

“Uh –” Jake clears his throat and looks away, “I just meant, you know, he doesn’t seem like your type.”

Amy is still confused. Teddy is exactly her type. He’s a cop, he’s smart, they have a _ton_ in common. He’s not bad looking either. But of course she doesn’t say any of this.

“Oh. Right,” she nods.

“You said no?” Jake guesses.

“Yeah.”

“How come?”

Now it’s her turn to try and think of a response.

“Um, well. I don’t know really. I kind of – I just wasn’t feeling it.”

She almost tells Jake about how she made Teddy believe that Jake and Amy were dating but manages to bite her tongue before anything slips out. She doesn’t think _that_ will go down too well.

“Your strides are really long,” she comments to change the subject, watching Jake walk.

He doesn’t say anything to that but she hears him laugh under his breath.

She feels Jake’s arm around her waist; his grip is tight and his skin is warm against hers. She leans into him. He smells faintly of smoke and his usual musky cologne. She smiles as she inhales.

“You smell nice,” she notes absent-mindedly.

She feels Jake laughing again.

“Oh, I should definitely be filming this,” he mumbles.

Amy thinks he’s making a joke at her expense but her brain is too muddled to care. So instead she just laughs with him and enjoys the sound of his voice. She never thought she would feel so… safe in the hands of Jake Peralta. It gets her thinking.

She wishes she felt nothing for Jake. That would make everything so much easier. There’s no way _she’s_ his type. He goes for busty blondes and girls who like to party.

But, unfortunately, she can’t help her mind from drifting; wondering whether she _does_ have feelings for Jake. Whether she actually sort of wants them to be together in a not-quite-partners-more-than-friends kind of way.

“It’s never going to happen,” she breathes to herself in dismissal.

Jake glances down at her.

“What’s never going to happen?”

Amy just shakes her head, feeling herself blushing slightly. She hopes it doesn’t show.

“Nothing.”

Thankfully Jake lets it go.

They turn the corner into her street not too long afterwards. She blinks and recognises her apartment building through blurred eyes.

“This is my place,” she states.

“I know,” Jake replies with an amused smirk.

“So I’ll be fine from here. Thanks for walking me home.”

Amy tries to walk away in the direction of her apartment but Jake doesn’t let go of her.

“Hey!” he protests.

“What are you doing?” she groans, struggling against his grip. On a normal day, Amy likes to think that she would be able to take on Peralta in a fight. But thanks to her intoxication she can barely get his hand off of her arm.

“I’m not leaving you _now_ ,” Jake spells out as if it’s obvious. “What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t see that you got in okay?”

Amy rolls her eyes but doesn’t try to stop him.

“Fine,” she allows.

So they walk – him with his arm still around her for support – through the doors of the building and into the empty elevator.

* * *

**Amy’s apartment, 12.45 a.m.**

“And we’re finally here,” Jake announces dramatically as they arrive outside her front door.

Amy hasn’t had Jake at her place since the disastrous thanksgiving dinner that she hosted. She hopes she hasn’t left it in a mess.

After fishing around in her purse for her keys for about five minutes, Jake takes Amy’s bag and gets them out for her with a smug smile. He then opens the door and steps inside with Amy on his tail.

“I almost forgot how weird your apartment is,” Jake notes as he walks around, scanning the rooms.

“Shut up,” Amy snaps back.

She trudges straight over to her sink and pours herself a glass of water, hoping that it will help to clear her head. She has one sip and smiles at the refreshing taste. Regrettably, her head is still thumping and spinning and her sense of rationality is nowhere to be found.

“Thanks for walking me home,” she breathes heavily to Jake, feeling somewhat winded. Her heart rate is unusually fast.

“Not a problem,” Jake shoots her a goofy grin as he edges towards the door. “I guess I’ll say goodnight then –”

“Jake, wait. I –” Amy interrupts him without thinking. She doesn’t know what she had been planning to say. She doesn’t know why but she wants him to stay.

“What?” Jake inquires looking puzzled.

He freezes where he is lingering near the door.

“I – I kind of wish –” Amy has never struggled for words so much in her life. Half of her brain is telling her mouth to _shut the hell up_ while the other half is steaming ahead without any kind of restraint.

“You wish…?” Jake prompts.

“I wish I could – _we_ could –” she cuts herself off with a deep breath.

Without thinking about what she’s doing at all, Amy decides that she cannot be bothered to try and explain how she feels to Jake. Instead, she marches right over to where Jake is standing and holds her head a little higher so that they are almost eye to eye.

Then she kisses him.

It’s sloppy and lacking in tenderness and completely unromantic but she doesn’t care about any of that. All Amy can think about is how much she wants her lips to be on Jake’s. He tastes of the pilsner he was drinking earlier at the bar and his mouth is cold from the walk to Amy’s apartment.

At first Jake doesn’t react. He stands statue-still in, what seems to be, a state of shock.

But that’s no fun at all. Amy pushes him backwards until he hits the wall behind him and hitches her leg up around his waist, pressing her hands flat against his chest. Unlike his lips, his body is so warm and solid and it feels so _right_ against Amy’s skin.

“Amy, what are you –” Jake finally snaps out of his stunned trance and pulls back slightly.

“Shh,” Amy whispers. “Just kiss me.”

She knows it’s risky. She knows she is acting stupidly because she’s had too much to drink. But in that moment she doesn’t care one bit.

Jake _does_ kiss her – for a second or two. It doesn’t last, though. He pulls away again; further this time.

“Amy, stop.”

Amy peeks up at him from under her lashes, dropping her leg from around his hips and taking a step backwards. His expression is hard to read. He looks almost… frustrated.

“What’s wrong? Don’t you want to kiss me?”

“Y – No, that’s not the point. You’re drunk. You need to stop this.”

“I’m not drunk,” Amy argues, even though it’s clearly obvious that she is. “I just want you –”

“ _No_ ,” Jake says again, sterner this time. “I’m sorry. I think I should go.”

Even though her head is spinning so badly that she can barely focus on the scene in front of her, Amy can’t help herself from taking an unsteady step backwards. Her lower lip quivers, her face heats up in embarrassment, her hands shake. She looks down at her feet, avoiding Jake’s eyes and swallowing hard.

“Amy, don’t –”

“It’s okay,” she cuts him off, her voice croaky. “I get it.”

She blinks back hot tears.

He doesn’t want her. He doesn’t like her back. He doesn’t want to kiss her.

She _knew_ it.

“No, it’s not what you think –” Jake starts to explain but he doesn’t get the chance to finish.

Amy throws up all over his shoes.


	4. Chapter 4

**Amy’s apartment, 9.30 a.m.**

Amy hasn’t woken up feeling this rough since college. She sits up slowly, wincing as the blood rushes to her head, and assess her surroundings. She’s in bed – her _own_ bed – thank goodness. She’s still wearing the pants that she had on yesterday and the same shirt – although half of the buttons are undone for some unknown reason. She can feel the remainders of her makeup smeared under her eyes.

Amy checks the clock and grimaces at the time. Thank goodness she doesn’t have work today. Even if she wasn’t late, there’s no way she’d be able to work in these conditions. Her eyes flicker over to the curtains covering her bedroom window; they’re drawn but there’s still a faint light coming through. It’s irritating.

“God,” Amy groans to herself, her throat burning as she speaks. Her breath smells awful. “What the hell happened last night?”

She thinks back to the night before but her head is thumping so painfully it’s hard to focus. Why the hell did she drink so much? She doesn’t even _like_ drinking for crying out loud.

“Okay,” Amy murmurs, trying to concentrate on the night earlier. Her memory is filled with black-spots which makes everything so much more complicated.

Amy remembers going to the bar with the rest of the squad to celebrate their perfect run at the tactical village. She recalls feeling giddy and excited and care-free so she drank way more than she should have. Jake had made a comment about her excessive alcohol consumption but she had blown him off, thinking that she’d be able to handle it. Of course, she was completely wrong.

Most of the squad left – Amy knows that much. But it’s around that point that her memories become hazy and muddled. How long did she stay at the bar for? She has no idea.

How did she get home? Did she drive? No, she wouldn’t have been that reckless. She must have caught a cab. Amy screws her face up in thought, having absolutely no recollection of waiting for a taxi to arrive.

_“Are you taking me home?”_

She remembers hearing those words slip out of her own mouth and focuses in on the memory.

_“Yep.”_

The reply comes from Jake. _Peralta_ walked her home?

A few scenes from last night flicker to life behind her eyes; Jake had taken her home and helped her inside and he had been so nice to her and she wasn’t thinking and –

“Oh, God,” Amy chokes out. “God, no.”

She had kissed him. No, scratch that – she had practically attacked him. Amy closes her eyes and lets out a drawn-out wail.

“Please say I dreamt that,” she whispers desperately, taking deep breaths to calm herself.

She can’t exactly recollect how it happened but the more she thinks about it, the surer she is that something happened between them last night. His cool lips on hers, her hands on his chest…

No. This can’t be happening. How did she allow herself to be so stupid?!

The worst part is that she remembers… _enjoying_ it. She remembers wanting to kiss Jake so desperately that she couldn’t control it anymore. She remembers frantically trying to get him to kiss her back. Her face heats up when she thinks of how much she wanted him in that one moment.

So much for just being friends.

Amy can’t recollect anything after that. Her mind goes completely blank which makes her tremendously nervous. She didn’t do anything crazy like… _sleep_ with him… right? She would remember that. Probably.

Besides, Jake wouldn’t have slept with Amy when she was that drunk. Would he?

Amy can feel her entire body trembling. She feels sick to her stomach. Everything is such a mess and she doesn’t know what to do.

* * *

**The corridor outside Amy’s apartment, 11 a.m.**

Jake doesn’t know if this is a good idea at all.

He’s never been this nervous to knock on someone’s door before which makes him think that it’s probably a mistake.

Last night was… Well. Jake can’t really think of a way to sum it up. Chaos, mostly. The day had started off well; the Nine-Nine had beaten the course record at the tactical village which was one of the coolest things Jake has done in a long time. And then the squad all went out for drinks and even Amy came with them which, he can’t deny, he was pleased about.

Jake had been cautious at the bar yesterday. He had noticed Amy throwing back drinks like there was no tomorrow so he decided to sip on a few beers instead of doing the same thing. He figured that it was probably for the best if at least _one_ of them had a clear head.

Besides, if he got completely drunk in Amy’s company, who knows what he might have done? He can barely control himself around her when he’s sober.

So, fast-forward a few hours and he had ended up back at her place. And she had thrown herself at him.

Don’t get him wrong, Jake absolutely loves the idea of Amy Santiago throwing herself at him. In fact, it’s one of his most frequently occurring fantasies. However, last night was not how he wanted it to go down.

Jake has always pictured his and Amy’s first _proper_ kiss to be similar to the one they shared that one time that they were undercover. That had been full of passion and feeling and it was… intimate. It was great.

He never thought that it would happen how it happened yesterday; Amy forcing herself onto him, sticking her tongue in his mouth and slamming him backwards against the wall. It just wasn’t _right_. Amy was completely pissed – she could barely stand up right. It didn’t seem like she had much of a clue what she was doing.

And, although it would have been easy for Jake to kiss her back, he didn’t want to do anything non-consensual to her when she was that drunk. That wouldn’t have been fair on either of them.

It took all of his willpower to resist, though.

Once he had finally managed to get the message across that he was _not_ going to make out with her under the circumstances (which she had taken totally the wrong way), Jake had picked Amy up bridal style and carried her to her bedroom. Even putting her down in bed was a challenge – she started to unbutton her shirt and tried to drag Jake down under the covers with her.

It was brutal. He had been horny as hell but somehow managed to resist Amy’s seductive groans of, ‘come on, Peralta, I _promise_ it will be good.’

He shivers at the memory.

Anyway, after all that he had tidied the mess in her apartment (which included cleaning vomit out of her carpet) and left her to sleep. That was around two a.m.

He doesn’t know what to think about last night, really. Amy doesn’t… _like_ him, right? Not like that. She thinks he’s too immature to be with her.

_Well then why did she try to kiss me?_

Jake can’t figure it out.

Either way, since it’s the weekend and neither of them have shifts today, he decided to come over and see how she’s doing. But now that he’s actually here, Jake is almost too worried to move. What if she’s mad at him? What if it’s awkward?

“Don’t be a coward,” he commands himself sternly, taking a few more steps towards Santiago’s front door.  

Jake knocks quickly before he can change his mind – three sharp raps.

He presses his ear against the door to listen inside but hears nothing. Jake knocks again, louder this time.

 _Maybe she’s out_ , Jake considers. _Or maybe she’s too hung over to answer the door. That would be completely understandable._

The door opens just a moment later. Amy stands behind it, looking deathly pale with bags under her eyes and her hair thrown up in a bun. She’s wearing leggings and an oversized sweater. Even when she’s looking her worst, Jake is attracted to her.

Amy’s eyes widen when she sees Jake standing there. She opens her mouth to say something and then snaps it shut again, her cheeks darkening.

“Hey,” Jake greets cheerily with a grin, trying to cut through the awkward tension that’s lingering between them. “’Sup?”

“What are you doing here?” Amy practically hisses the words. Her voice is low and scratchy.

“I came to see how you are after last night,” Jake replies.

Amy winces at the words _last night._ He doesn’t blame her.

“I’m fine,” she assures him curtly.

Jake just looks at her with his eyebrows raised.

“You sure about that?”

“Yes,” Amy snaps. “I’m fine. You can go home.”

She tries to slam the door closed but Jake sticks his foot in the way to stop it from shutting all the way.

“Hey,” he tries to reason with her.

“What do you want Jake? Just leave me alone.”

Amy turns and storms away into her apartment. She doesn’t shut the door, though, so Jake takes it as a sign to follow her, closing the door after himself.

“Why are you mad?” he asks.

“Why am I mad?” Amy repeats with a humourless laugh, throwing her hands in the air. “Are you kidding me right now? I’m mad because I’m a complete screw-up!”

Jake is completely lost. He takes a step towards her – though he’s not quite sure what he intends to do – but Amy holds her hands up, warning him to stay where he is.

“What are you talking about?” Jake wonders aloud. “You could _not_ be further away from being a screw-up. You’re, like, the total opposite.”

She doesn’t seem to take any comfort in his words.

“Last night was…”

“Not your best night,” Jake finishes. “But who cares? It was _one_ night! Besides, nothing _too_ disastrous happened.”

“That’s easy for you to say,” Amy mumbles bitterly. “You’re not the one who made a complete idiot of yourself.”

Jake just shrugs.

“It’s no big deal, Amy, seriously. So what, you got drunk? We all do it. So what, you came on to me? Most people do that too, at some point in their lives.”

Amy rolls her eyes and her lip twitches but she doesn’t quite smile. Instead, she collapses down onto the couch beside her and places her head into her hands.

“But now things are going to be… you know. Awkward. Between us.”

Jake walks over to the couch and sits down beside her.

“It will only be awkward if we let it be,” he reminds her with a light nudge.

Amy looks up at him. Her eyes are wide again, and she looks so… afraid. Vulnerable. He doesn’t know what to do to make it better.

“I’m sorry but I can’t do it,” she says with a small shake of her head.

“Do what?”

“Pretend like nothing happened!” she practically explodes. Jake’s forehead creases in utter confusion. He thought Amy was embarrassed that she kissed him last night. He assumed she would _want_ to forget that it happened. “Just tell me one thing,” Amy continues, her voice low and rushed. “Why did you do it? Is it because I’m too boring? Because I can be fun, I swear. Or is it my clothes? I can change the way I dress –”

“Woah, woah, slow down,” Jake cuts her off, only becoming more and more baffled. “What the hell are you talking about? Why did I do _what_?”

Amy blinks at him.

“Reject me,” she clarifies slowly.

“ _Reject_ you,” Jake repeats, dumbfounded.

“Yeah. When I kissed you, I mean.”

Jake takes a second or two to figure out what she means.

“Wait, I didn’t reject you,” he defends. “Well, I guess I _did_ but not because – I didn’t –” Jake pauses to take a breath. “I didn’t kiss you back because I didn’t want to take advantage of you. You were _drunk_. I thought you didn’t know what you were doing.”

“You thought… I didn’t know… what I was doing?” Amy parrots.

“Yeah.”

“Come on, Peralta, give me some credit!” she contends. “I may have been drunk but I knew what I was doing, at least when I kissed you. It wasn’t some stupid mistake. I knew what I wanted.”

Jake narrows his eyes at her.

“So you kissed me… on _purpose_?”

Amy blushes once again but laughs lightly with a wave of her hand.

“You make it sound so scandalous.”

“But I thought –”

“You thought I was doing it because of the alcohol,” she concludes. “I get it. It was really sweet of you. I appreciate it.”

Jake shakes his head. He can’t believe it. He had played out a series of scenarios of what he thought might happen when he came round to Amy’s today but this certainly wasn’t what he expected.

“Just to clarify again, you actually _meant_ to kiss me? And you wanted me to kiss you back?”

Amy tries to hide her smile.

“Uh-huh.”

“And do you still feel the same way now?” he inquires, feeling his throat grow tight.

She shrugs nonchalantly.

“Maybe.”

“What if I were to –“

Jake trails off, not reaching the end of his sentence. He leans in towards Amy until their noses touch. She smells like booze, vomit and toothpaste but he doesn’t really care. Then he closes the distance entirely and presses his lips against hers. This is the third time they’ve kissed now, but it feels like the first.

Jake can feel Amy smiling against his mouth. Her lips are chapped and warm and they move in perfect synchronisation with his. The kiss is slow but Jake prefers it that way. It doesn’t feel rushed or inappropriate or mischievous. It just feels… nice.

Amy’s mouth parts under his and he feels her tongue run along the length of his. Her breath is sweet and delicious; he lets out a quiet hum of pleasure.

Jake still can’t believe that Amy thought he rejected her yesterday because he didn’t like her. Honestly, for a detective she can miss the obvious sometimes. He’s liked her for _months_. Could she not tell how badly he wanted to kiss her back? It just didn’t feel right. Not while she was in the state she was in.

Although, in her defence, she was probably too drunk to concentrate on her own feelings at the time, let alone his.

Amy pulls away from Jake’s mouth for a breath but she doesn’t move far. She stays close enough that he can feel her breath on his cheek.

“You’re good at that,” she comments, slightly breathlessly. “Kissing, I mean.”

Jake grins.

“I know.”

“Modest much?” Amy laughs with a roll of her eyes.

They just sit and look at each other for a few moments. Jake gets lost every time he looks into her eyes; he can tell so much about what she’s thinking from one simple look. They’re sparkling at the moment – lit up with excitement. Her cheeks are flushed red and her lips are damp and pouted. He imagines that he looks the same.

“Amy Santiago,” Jake begins dramatically, getting off of the couch and perching down on the floor on one knee. She snorts with laughter but he continues anyway. “Would you do me the extreme privilege of becoming my girlfriend?”

The smile drains off of Amy’s lips and she becomes grave for a moment.

“Jake, are you serious?”

“Of course I’m serious,” he replies, pulling a face as if to ask are-you-completely-insane?

“You don’t have to do this just to cheer me up or whatever –”

“ _Amy_ ,” he puts emphasis on her name to get her attention. “Just answer the damn question.”

A small smile breaks out on her face at that. Jake grins up at her, his stomach churning in anticipation.

“Yes,” she sighs happily, smiling wider. “I would be honoured.”

* * *

**Amy’s apartment, 1 p.m.**

Amy didn’t realise how much she actually liked Jake until he kissed her for the third time.

Which is ridiculous, when you think about it. They’ve been working together for years. They’ve solved more cases together than she can remember.

And, apparently, they’ve both been kind of accidentally falling for one another.

Amy honestly hadn’t known. When Jake had pushed her away last night instead of kissing her back she had genuinely thought he didn’t like her.

As it happens, he does seem to like her. Quite a lot.

Amy pulls away from their current kiss (the sixth kiss of the day) to voice her thoughts.

“Can you believe it took us this long to get together?” she asks Jake.

But he’s barely listening; kissing down along Amy’s jaw and wriggling his hand up the bottom of her sweater.

“Uh-huh,” he mumbles in between kisses.

Amy just laughs. She doesn’t mind at all. She never thought she would be thinking this but it’s actually one of the nicest things to be here like this with Jake. It feels like the most natural thing in the world.

She lies back on the couch and tilts her head back so that he has better access to her neck. She absently feels him giving her a hickey (which kind of tickles, partly turns her on and is faintly painful all at the once) and gasps.

“Hey,” Jake pants, looking up at her. “Do you wanna have sex?”

Amy bursts out laughing and shakes her head at him. Her entire body is humming with a kind of electricity she’s never felt before.

“Jake!” she exclaims, hitting him.

“What?”

“Have you ever heard of _romance_?”

“Okay fine,” Jake smirks, rewording his question, “Amy, would you care to join me over in the bedroom for some passionate intercourse?”

Amy throws her head back and laughs even harder at that, screwing her face up at the word _intercourse_. Jake chuckles too, stroking a hand down her arm.

“I mean, we don’t have to. It was just a suggestion,” he says quickly. “I’m not just in this for the physical stuff – I want to just spend time with you as well. You know that, right?”

Amy smiles.

“I know.”

“So…” Jake prompts, “is that a yes?”

She gets to her feet and turns away from him, leisurely making her way towards her bedroom.

“I guess we’ll find out.”

Jake beams and jumps up to follow.

Part of Amy is freaking out at this point. She can’t have sex with Jake! He’s her _partner_. They’re _co-workers_. Besides, he’s too immature for a serious relationship. He’s more of a hit it and quit it kind of guy.

But the majority of her is ignoring all of that. She doesn’t care that they’re partners – that doesn’t matter at all. She doesn’t care that he can childish be – because he can also be grown-up and sensible at times. Take last night for instance; Jake brought Amy home and took care of her. And all day he’s done nothing but be sweet to her – not one single joke has been made at her expense. If that’s not a breakthrough, Amy doesn’t know what is.

Amy’s about to tell Jake about how impressed she is by his newfound maturity but suddenly her mouth is preoccupied and she never gets the chance.

Jake initiates the kiss; wrapping his arms around her and pulling him close to himself as they collapse back onto the mattress. Amy’s mouth melts against his, her hands stroking through his hair. They seem to fit so well together – much better than Amy has ever fit with anyone else before.

She gets caught up in the moment instantly and, before she knows it, Amy is murmuring Jake’s name and pulling him closer. She wants him more than anything. She’s wanted him for so long.

Amy pulls at Jake’s shirt and tugs it over his head. She’s seen him shirtless before but this is different. She runs a hand down his bare chest and leans forward to leave a line of kisses along his collarbone.

“May I?” Jake asks, pulling at the hem of Amy’s sweater.

She nods with a small smile and helps him to lift it off. She’s only wearing a plain black bra today – nothing fancy – but Jake doesn’t seem to mind. His eyes instantly focus on her chest which makes her laugh. His mouth falls open and one of his hands reaches up to cup her breast, the other wrapping around her back.

“Eyes up here, Peralta,” she orders with mock authority.

“Yes, ma’am,” Jake replies, saluting her.

He wriggles out of his jeans and she does the same; yanking her leggings off and tossing them aside. Jake lies down on his back and Amy lowers herself down onto him slowly, kissing the side of his mouth in what she hopes is a seductive manner. Lying in their underwear, Amy can feel Jake’s bare skin against hers – their legs tangling together, her arms around his neck.

“Oh my God,” Jake grins at her overexcitedly, “this is really happening. I am having sex with Amy Santiago. Who would have thought it?”

“Shut up,” she kicks him, stifling a giggle, “you’re ruining the moment.”

Jake does as he’s told, reaching up and pulling Amy’s hair out of the messy bun she threw it up in earlier. Her dark hair falls in waves around her face, some of it brushing onto Jake’s cheeks below her.

Amy looks down at Jake. His light brown eyes are half-closed in bliss, his mouth pulled up at one side into a lopsided smile. His hair is a mess from where she’s been stroking it. His leg is running up and down hers, one of his hands is gripping the top of her thigh. She feels a grunt of pleasure slip out of her mouth.

He’s driving her crazy.

“God, you’re hot,” she groans absently.

Jake tries to hide his grin.

“You think I’m hot?”

Amy blushes instantly, her cheeks blazing crimson. She didn’t mean to say that out loud.

“Uh –”

“Have I ever told you how cute you are when you’re flustered?” Jake asks teasingly.

“Shut it, Peralta,” Amy huffs, still bright red.

“It’s okay,” he assures her, lifting the covers and tilting his hips so that she can see the bulge in his pants where his erection is pressed against the fabric. “I think you’re pretty hot too.”

Amy covers her face and laughs.

“Is that all for me?” she questions him in humour.

“Damn straight.”

He’s suddenly grinning again and Amy can’t take it anymore, she just can’t keep her hands off of him. She brings her mouth back to his with a gasp, feeling his tongue on hers immediately. She starts to move her body in time with their lips; twisting and wriggling and loving the feeling that the friction between their bodies creates.

She reaches down under the quilt and jerks Jake’s boxers down which makes him tense in shock. She pulls them all the way down until they're completely off and then does the same with her own. She can feel the bare skin covering his pelvis stroke against hers.

It’s strange. Even though they are both lying almost-completely-naked, it doesn’t feel that way. Amy doesn’t think she’s ever felt happier.

As if reading her thoughts, Jake moves and his hands work their way around to her back. She feels his fingers fiddling with the clasp on her bra and smiles, allowing him to undo it. When he finally does, she can’t help being amused by his reaction. She’s never seen him stare at something so intently.

“Have I ever mentioned how much I love boobs?” Jake mumbles distractedly.

Amy laughs and feels Jake’s erection growing against her leg. He swallows, still focused on her naked torso, and reaches down to under the blankets, apparently needing to do something about how horny he is.

“Hey,” Amy grabs his arm to stop him. “That’s what I’m here for.”

She reaches down and finds his hard-on easily enough, gripping it in her hand. Jake bites down on his lower lip when she touches the sensitive area. Amy then slowly begins to move her hand up and down, checking with Jake every now and then to make sure that he’s comfortable. His head is thrown back and his hand is gripping one of Amy’s breasts so enthusiastically it almost makes her laugh. His fingers are warm; he traces slow circles on her bare skin which makes her quiver.  

Amy increases the speed of her hand, working her wrist until it begins to hurt. Jake grows fully stiff in her hand which makes her smile for some reason. She continues to pump up and down at a steady pace. Jake lets out a series of laboured pants and she wants to kiss him again.

“F-fuck,” Jake stammers out as he comes over Amy’s hand. He suddenly flips around so that Amy is on her back and he is leaning over her. He looks down at her, his eyes full of affection. “You know I’m no good at this kind of stuff –”

“What, sex?” Amy jokes.

“ _No_. I’m great at sex, I can guarantee that,” he winks. “I meant at the whole _discussing_ _feelings_ thing.”

“Oh, that,” Amy nods, finding it hard to focus on his words.

Her legs latch around his waist. Jake’s soft touch works its way up her inner thighs, in such a teasingly painful way that her body throbs pleadingly and she can barely breathe.

“But what I’m trying to say is – you – are pretty awesome,” he says in a strained voice, “I mean really awesome. Amy Santiago, you are completely beautiful.”

Amy pauses and looks up at him, her heart hammering in her chest.

“Jake,” she practically sighs his name, not knowing how else to respond.

“Talking time is over,” he decides. “Now it’s time for me to prove how great I am in the sack.”

Without warning, he pushes himself inside her; somehow managing to be gentle and rugged at the same time. Amy lets out a squeak of surprise, gritting her teeth to stop herself from screaming out. She trembles underneath Jake, her eyes squeezing shut in ecstasy as he fully inserts himself into her entrance.

“Shit,” she gasps for air, “ _Jake_.”

A series of whimpers escape her lips, laced with pleasure and satisfaction. Jake pulls out slightly and then pushes back in, grunting in rapture as he does so.

“Mm-hm,” Jake hums, building up a rhythm.

Amy’s face contorts in agonising delirium as Jake moves faster and thrusts into her harder and harder. She grabs onto him and moves her body in time with his so that it feels even better. Amy bites down on his shoulder to hold in her moans, clawing down his back in a way that she hopes doesn’t hurt him. Jake rakes his hand through her hair gasping every now and then in approval.

“How’s the sex?” Jake puffs after a few moments with a rugged breath.

Amy is enjoying herself too much to take much notice of his words. She feels a smile on her face and wonders how Jake manages to make her laugh, even in the strangest of situations.

She reaches behind his neck to pull him up for a kiss; hot and wild and full of every ounce of passion that she has.

“The best I’ve ever had.”


	5. Chapter 5

**99 th Precinct, 10 a.m**.

Jake and Amy. It’s official. They are… a thing. A _couple_. Amy finds herself screwing her face up – partly from embarrassment, partly from the strangeness of it all – whenever she thinks about it.

She still hasn’t really processed it. How can she be dating Jake Peralta? He’s her _partner_. None of it makes any sense.

But when she looks at him from her desk as he makes his coffee in the break room with an adorable look of concentration on his face, she can’t help her chest tightening in elation. Yes, it’s insane that she and Jake are romantically involved. It’s ridiculous to think that someone so idiotic can make Amy feel so… _good_. Seriously. Whenever she’s around him she just feels feathery light.

Jake Peralta. Her boyfriend. Who would have thought it?

They have decided not to tell anyone at the precinct, though. Amy had originally suggested the idea – she was worried that Holt would be disappointed or start treating her differently because of it. She also wasn’t particularly up to facing the inevitable mocking and jeering from their colleagues.

Jake had agreed, surprisingly. He thought that sneaking around would be fun.

“We can come up with a backstory – like, we’re both working undercover as ordinary Brooklyn police detectives but secretly we’re from rival drug gangs. And then we accidentally fall in love but we can’t blow our cover so every meeting has to be in secret –”

“Jake,” Amy had interrupted him with a roll of her eyes. She couldn’t help smiling a little, though. “Let’s not get carried away, here.”

“Who’s getting carried away?” he had retorted. “I’m just making it believable.”

Amy just smirked and let him get on with it.

At the time, she thought it would be simple. After all, not much had actually changed. Sure, they were now an item but all they had to do was act the same way that they did before. Sit opposite each other at their conjoined desks. Work cases together. Argue, as usual. It would be easy.

It would seem that ever since they first kissed, some kind of primal longing has been sparked inside Amy. Whenever she catches Jake’s eye across the precinct, she feels her breaths shortening, her cheeks darkening, her throat closing up. He’s just _so damn attractive_. She wants to kiss him so badly.

How is she supposed to pretend that they’re only friends when all she can think about it ripping his clothes off?

She doesn’t know if Jake’s struggling as much as she is. He seems to be fine, as he pours cream into his coffee and walks out of the break room with a hint of swagger in his step. Either his attraction towards Amy isn’t as strong as she thought it was or he’s just a really good actor.

Amy’s eyes are trained on him as he makes his way back to his desk. He’s wearing a navy button-down chequered shirt today. His hair is slightly mussed from where he keeps running a hand through it.

“Hey partner,” Jake grins as he plonks down opposite her. “How’s that mugging case coming along?”

“Fine,” Amy snaps back, trying to remember how she is usually snarky around Jake. “You could have offered to make me a coffee, you know.”

Jake just shrugs, sipping on his drink and acting as if he doesn’t care about what Amy wants. But his eyes stay focussed on hers and they’re warm and sweet. She kind of gets lost in his gaze a little.

“Your hair looks nice today,” Jake murmurs, looking across at her.

Amy blinks in surprise. Jake’s eyes widen a moment later as well as if he realises that that isn’t exactly the type of thing he usually says to her on a Monday morning at work. Amy notices Boyle overhear Jake’s words and glance over at his desk, puzzled.

Her hair is exactly the same as always, anyway. It’s pulled back into a ponytail for practicality reasons. Even though it’s not the most amazing compliment, Amy still feels herself smiling.

“Uh –”

“I meant nice compared with how it always is,” Jake explains, quickly trying to turn his accidental admiring comment into an insult. “I mean it usually looks really bad but today it – doesn’t look as bad. That’s all I was saying.”

Amy has to bite down on her lower lip hard to stop herself laughing. He can be such an idiot sometimes.

“That’s rich coming from you, Peralta,” Amy shoots back at him, playing along. “Do you even own a hairbrush?”

This time, Jake isn’t acting at all when his eyebrows pull together and he replies.

“Of course I don’t own a hairbrush.”

Amy just shakes her head, still trying not to laugh. Jake is the same – trying to look at her in annoyance but the corners of his mouth are threatening to pull up into a smile.

Captain Holt appears beside them in the next second, making Amy jump. She quickly averts her gaze from Jake and smiles brightly up at Holt.

“Sir!”

She absently notices Jake smirking at her enthusiasm but she ignores him.

“I just wanted to congratulate the two of you on your success at the Tactical Village on Friday,” the Captain nods. His face is unchanging but Amy thinks she can see a hint of pride in his eyes.

“Thank you, sir,” she gushes, beaming.

“I hear you were the one who rescued the hostages,” Holt turns to address Jake who is leaning back in his chair.

“It was no big deal,” Jake waves a hand in the captain’s direction. “I mean, it’s what we do.”

Amy rolls her eyes.

“Actually, sir, Scully was the one who came up with the move that Jake used. He calls it ‘upsie-downsies’,” she explains, pleased with herself when the smile wipes off of Jake’s face. “So really, the credit should go to him.”

Jake glowers at her as the Captain turns to Scully and congratulates him instead and – _God_ , is it wrong that she finds Jake’s frown and vengeful expression a serious turn on? Amy just looks away, smiling to herself.

“Is this true, Peralta?” Holt asks.

“Yes,” Jake says begrudgingly through gritted teeth. “Credit should go to Scully.”

When the Captain turns away, Jake narrows his eyes at Amy and mouths ‘ _you’re dead_ ’.

Amy shivers and tries to focus on her paperwork, swallowing hard.

If he wants to punish her… she’s certainly not going to object.

* * *

**Copying Room, 2p.m.**

“What’s going on with you and Amy?” Boyle asks, his voice a few octaves too high and his eyes wide with curiosity.

“What are you talking about?” Jake answers, feigning confusion.

_Dammit, how does Charles always seem to know what’s going on in Jake’s life?_

“I’ve seen you two,” he responds, “giving each other… _looks_. All morning.”

Jake turns away from Boyle, staring at the buttons on the machine in front of him and continuing to copy his files.

“I have got literally no idea what you’re talking about.”

Boyle moves to stand directly opposite Jake, forcing him to return eye contact.

“Something’s going on. Isn’t it?”

Boyle’s eyebrows waggle knowingly, his voice still ludicrously high-pitched and eager.

“ _No_ ,” Jake sighs. “There is nothing going on between me and Amy. Why would there be?”

Jake didn’t realise that they had been obvious. It kind of annoys him to hear Boyle so sure that he and Amy are involved with each other. He had been trying so hard to act natural around her! Clearly he hasn’t been doing a particularly good job.

Boyle finally seems to accept that Jake isn’t about to admit his and Amy’s secret relationship any time soon.

“Fine,” Charles shrugs, edging towards the door. “I’ll drop it. For now. But don’t think this is over, Jake. If something is going on, I _will_ find out about it.”

He points a finger in Jake’s direction as he walks away, wide-eyed.

Jake lets out a breath and shakes his head at how crazy Charles is acting. He waits until Boyle has completely disappeared to turn back to his copying and trying to forget that whole encounter.

Honestly, he’s not sure how long he and Amy are going to be able to hide their relationship status… no matter how good they are at acting. Boyle is always super-crazy-intensely aware of these kinds of things. After all, he’s the one who made Jake realise that he liked Amy in the first place.

Jake is just mulling over the situation when someone else enters the copying room and he spins abruptly to see who it is.

“Hey.” Amy stands before him, speaking urgently in a low, rushed tone. Her forehead is crinkled in the cutest way – she looks worried. “Meet me in the evidence lockup in two minutes.”

“What –”

Jake doesn’t even get the chance to ask his question before she turns and marches back the way she came, her ponytail flicking over her shoulder dramatically as she does so.

“Amy!” he hisses after her, trying to get her to come back without alerting anyone else’s attention to the two of them.

She ignores him, her step not faltering even for a second.

What’s wrong with her? Did someone find out about them? Jake’s stomach twists as he considers the possibilities.

Without wasting a second, he gathers up his copying and hurries out of the small room that he’s been stuck in for a while now, walking as casually as possible over to his desk and dumping the pile of paperwork.

Just as he’s about to head to the evidence lockup to see what’s wrong with Amy, Captain Holt emerges behind him, making Jake jump and curse. How does Holt always manage to move so silently?

“Sir,” he greets, attempting to be pleasant. “What can I do for you?”

Holt glares at him for a moment, seeming annoyed. Jake isn’t sure if the Captain actually is angry or not. He can never tell.

“What are you doing in such a rush?” Holt asks, disregarding Jake’s question.

“I am…” Jake clears his throat, trying to act normally. “I’m just heading down to the evidence lock-up. There’s some stuff from the Davidson case that I need to go over.”

Holt looks at Jake suspiciously but Jake doesn’t give him the opportunity to ask any more questions, grinning and rushing away. Jake hopes Holt doesn’t suspect anything is going on with him and Amy. He knows that Amy is reluctant to tell Holt because she thinks that a workplace relationship would seem ‘unprofessional’.

Jake shakes his head to himself as he jogs down the stairs and makes his way to the lower level of the precinct. He spots the evidence room door swinging open instantly and rushes over to it, peering inside.

“Amy?” he whispers.

“I’m right here,” she replies from behind one of the shelves. She runs over to Jake and slams the door shut behind him.

“What’s going on?” Jake asks, confused by the pleading urgency in her eyes. “Are you alright –?”

Amy interrupts his pressing questions by reaching up on her tip-toes and pressing her lips against Jake’s. She’s not gentle either; her touch is rough and hungry. She smells so good – like her flowery perfume. She tastes good too – all coffee and lipstick.

As much as he is enjoying himself, Jake reluctantly pulls away, gasping for breath.

“What are you doing?” he inquires, staring down at Amy’s pouted lips and dilated pupils and wondering what’s going on with her.

“I can’t do this whole _pretend we’re not dating_ thing,” she sighs, deflated. “It sucks.”

“Are you saying you want to tell people, or –”

“No, no I still don’t want to tell them, I just –” Amy closes her eyes, seeming exasperated. “I just hate having to work so close to you without being able to even _kiss_ you. Do you understand how hard that is for me?”

Jake is suddenly grinning.

“Well, I _am_ devastatingly handsome –”

Amy slaps his arm and he pretends to wince.

“Jake, I’m serious,” she murmurs. “If we’re going to keep this a secret, we’re going to have to, you know…”

“What?” Jake looks at her without understanding for a few seconds before it clicks. “Oh, you mean have undercover make out sessions in the evidence room?” he gasps in excitement, finally understanding why she had demanded to meet him in here. “That sounds exactly like the kind of thing that Caramel Moon and the Stone Python would do.”

Amy arches an eyebrow at him.

“Those are our code names,” he explains with a proud grin.

“Caramel Moon?” she repeats in amusement.

Jake nods.

“Because your skin looks like caramel and your favourite time of day is night-time when the moon is out,” he explains as if it’s obvious. “Duh.”

Amy laughs at that but it seems genuinely happy.

“I can’t believe you know that about me.”

“Of course I do,” Jake shrugs. “I’m the Stone Python because I’m deadly as a –”

“A python, yeah I get it,” Amy snorts. “I thought I said no code names.”

“But we need codenames!” Jake whines.

Amy just sighs.

“Okay, whatever. All I was trying to say was that if we’re going to be keeping this a secret –”

“Going undercover,” Jake corrects.

“– we’re going to need to have some time to be together in private –”

“Secret make-out sessions,” Jake repeats his words from earlier, grinning.

“Fine, secret make-out sessions,” Amy agrees. “And I am in need of one right now. Is that alright with you?”

Jake is still smiling. He reaches over to the closed door and turns the lock to make sure they won’t be disturbed. Then he nods vigorously, taking Amy’s hips in his hands and pulling her closer to resume the kissing.

“Sounds good.”

Amy reaches up again, connecting their lips with a kind of burning desire that he’s never seen in her before. If Jake knew this was what happened to Amy when they went one day without making out, he would have suggested that they hid their relationship sooner.

Jake feels his mouth moving in synchronisation with Amy’s, almost automatically. Her mouth is warm and her breath is delectably sweet and sultry. He pushes her backwards until they hit the shelves behind them, lined with bagged evidence. Amy’s back presses against the wall and he hears her let out a groan of approval. It sends a tremor down his spine.

Amy is one of the most amazing people he’s ever been with. Actually, forget that. She’s _the_ most amazing. He’s sure of it. The feel of her soft curves under his hands, her invitingly ample lips and the scrunched up expression she makes when she’s turned on. He can barely deal with it.

Especially when she does things that she knows drive him crazy – like right now; her hands combing through his hair, her lips brushing against his collarbone and along his jawline and behind his ear, her leg hitching around his waist and yanking him closer to her. Jake can feel himself losing it – a rumbling hum of pleasure builds at the back of his throat.

Jake practically rips Amy’s blazer off and tosses it aside. He takes her shirt in his hands, undoing the first few buttons so that the lacy fringe of her bra is peeking out of the top, her cleavage on the verge of spilling out. He then untucks the shirt from her pants and curls his hand up around her tiny waist, running his fingertips over her toned stomach. Jake can feel his cock growing achingly hard.

“What would Holt think if he could see his perfect Detective Santiago now?” Jake breathes against Amy’s neck teasingly. “Indulging in sexy times down in the evidence lockup rather than getting on with her work.”

Amy raises her eyebrows at him, pulling away for a second to answer.

“Are you seriously thinking about Holt right now?” she asks, trying not to laugh.

“No, I’m thinking about you. I was just saying –”

“Stop talking,” Amy cuts him off, connecting their lips together fiercely.

Her tongue darts into Jake’s mouth, wrapping around his ravenously and Jake decides not to protest. Every inch of her against him makes him feel like he’s floating. She’s so perfect it hurts.

Amy suddenly reaches up to the top of Jake’s chequered shirt, tearing it open down the middle to get access to his chest. Half of the buttons ping off and bounce onto the floor beneath their feet. The fabric of the button-holes are ripped beyond repair.

“Amy!” Jake exclaims, looking down at the mess of his shirt. Great. Now he’s going to have to borrow something from lost and found and look like an idiot for the rest of the day.

“Oops,” Amy giggles when she sees the ruined shirt. “Sorry.”

She doesn’t seem all that sorry, though. Jake tries to be mad at her but it’s absolutely impossible. Her apologetic smile and wide eyes are enough to make him crumble.

“Come here,” he growls instead, pulling her back towards him and burying his face in her chest.

Jake kisses along the top of where Amy’s bra starts; one of his hands cupping her breast, the other squeezing her ass. He rubs the tingling area between his legs against her pelvis and his eyes flutter closed as he hears the faint groan of approval that leaves Amy’s mouth.

“R-right there,” she stutters out, her head tipped back in pleasure.

Jake loves making Amy happy. He loves making her smile and laugh and moan and sometimes, in the right context, scream. So, when he sees how lustful she is, he wants to do something about it.

Jake slips his hand down the waistband of Amy’s sensible work pants, feeling her stiffen as she feels his touch. He continues to move down until he can feel the gusset of her panties. Amy gasps when his fingers come into contact with the sensitive area. He doesn’t know why but he’s pleasantly surprised by the dampness there.

“God,” Amy chokes, bringing Jake’s lips back to hers with a whimper.

Jake kisses her wildly, whilst he simultaneously keeps his hand down her pants; his fingers moving around until he finds the area that makes Amy’s entire frame shake. He rubs against her clit through the thin fabric and she squeaks breathlessly.

“You’re so hot,” Jake breathes as he bites on her lower lip.

“Mmm,” Amy moans distractedly.

Jake’s free hand caresses her cheek, his fingers following the sculpted lines of her jaw. Everything about her seems to be effortlessly stunning. His stomach churns with burning hunger.

Suddenly – sudden enough to make both Amy and Jake jump to untangle themselves from one another – there’s a loud thud against the door. Jake glances at Amy in panic but she looks just as muddled as he is.

“Why is this door locked?” the Captain’s voice booms through the heavy metal wall and Jake feels his whole face fall.

“Goddammit,” he snarls quietly in frustration.

All he wants at that moment is to finish what he started here with Amy – his entire body is trembling with how badly he needs her.

“Crap,” Amy yelps in agreement. “Quick, hide!” she orders, shoving Jake behind some of the huge shelving units stacked high with evidence bags.

Jake does as she says, forcing himself into a small gap that keeps him hidden well enough. He can just about make out Amy through the cracks in the shelves. She’s doing her shirt up and tucking it back into her pants. Jake feels himself pouting with disappointment as her flesh is covered up.

Amy takes one more second to adjust her slightly dishevelled ponytail before running over to the door and undoing the lock. Holt bursts in immediately, looking furious. Jake holds his breath.

“What is going on in here?” he demands.

Amy clears her throat.

“We – I was just – I wasn’t –” her voice is breathless and her cheeks are red. She looks so adorably hot Jake feels his erection growing irritatingly.

“You weren’t what, Detective Santiago?” Holt demands.

“I mean, I was just getting some evidence from down here,” she begins, taking a breath to calm herself down.

“Why was the door locked?” Holt cocks his head to one side, sounding stern.

“Uh,” Amy forces a laugh, “that’s a funny story actually. While I was down here I thought that I may as well check if the locks on the doors were working.”

“Why wouldn’t they be working?” Holt asks, sounding more puzzled than angry this time.

“Um, well, you can never be too careful, sir,” Amy lies unconvincingly.

Jake has to cover his mouth with his hand to hold in his laughter. Amy is the worst liar he’s ever come across. What is she even talking about?

“So you were testing… that the lock worked?” Holt repeats slowly for clarification.

There’s a beat of silence.

“Yes,” Amy nods.

Holt seems exasperated but doesn’t comment any further.

“As you’re one of our best detectives I will go along with this bizarre story,” he allows.

Amy forces a smile.

“Thank you, sir.”

Holt then glances around the room and Jake ducks his head, ensuring that he’s invisible.

“Have you seen Peralta? He said he was coming down here. He’s been acting very… strangely today.”

Jake can hear Amy’s phony laughter as she tries to act naturally.

“Jake? No! No, of course not. Why would I have seen him? I never see him. Unless we’re working on something together. But we’re not working on anything together at the moment. So no I haven’t seen him. I haven’t seen him for ages – since, like, this morning I think when he was making coffee,” she rambles.

Jake slaps a hand to his forehead.

“Alright,” Holt answers, sounding only marginally doubtful. Holt’s gaze sweeps the evidence lockup one last time. “Did you finish everything you were doing in here?” he asks Amy.

Jake listens as Amy opens her mouth but doesn’t speak for a second as she decides what to say.

“Yes. Yeah. I’m done,” she decides.

“Good,” Holt nods. “You can come with me upstairs and talk me through your mugging case then.”

“Sure. Great,” Amy replies, still a little winded. Jake knows that she hates lying. And now he knows why. She _sucks_ at it.

Holt steps out of the evidence lockup and Amy follows his lead, unable to say no to her boss. She looks back at where Jake is hiding quickly before she leaves, catching his eye.

Jake just winks at her and watches her go.


	6. Chapter 6

**Jake’s apartment, 7 p.m.**

As expected, it doesn’t take long for something to go wrong. Something _always_ manages to go wrong when it comes to Jake’s life.

An amused smirk appears on Rosa’s face and her stifled snort of laughter makes Terry stop talking and the rest of the group turn to look at her. Before anyone can ask what’s going on, she holds her hand up to show the tiny pair of red lace panties that she’s gripping onto.

“What’s this, Peralta?”

_Well shit._

* * *

**10 hours before.**

Amy feels the smile fade from her face as soon as she enters the precinct on Wednesday morning. Jake’s desk is empty which, she _knows_ , is not a rarity at nine in the morning (seriously, is he _ever_ on time for work?) but it still makes her pout.

“Jake not here yet?” she asks absently as she plonks down at her own desk.

“Jake just called in sick,” Rosa tells her, not bothering to glance up from her computer.

“What?” Amy frowns.

“He’s _sick_ ,” Rosa repeats. “Are you deaf?”

“Sick how?” Amy presses, trying to act casually.

She doesn’t want it to seem like she is taking too much of an interest in Jake’s life. But then again, she’s allowed to be a little concerned for her partner, isn’t she?

“How should I know?” Rosa shrugs, getting to her feet and marching over to the break room. “Coffee?”

Amy blinks distractedly.

“No thanks,” she murmurs, still frowning.

Why would Jake not have told her if he was sick? She could have gone to his apartment on the way to work and bought him food and blankets.

Amy gets to her feet and checks that no one is watching her. It’s not a problem; the precinct is mostly empty at this time of morning anyway. Then she ducks out of the building and turns a corner into an empty street, snatching her phone out of her pocket and dialling Jake’s number.

It rings a few times before Jake answers. Amy leans into the cold wall behind her, hoping that Holt doesn’t catch her skiving.

“I was wondering when you’d call,” Jake says when he answers the phone rather than an actual greeting. Amy can hear the smirk in his voice and immediately wants to roll her eyes.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were sick?” she demands.

“Because I’m not,” Jake informs her cheerily.

“I don’t understand.”

“I am pretending to be sick to get out of work,” he spells out for her clearly.

It takes Amy a moment to respond.

“But – _why_? You love work! Holt would be furious if he found out –”

“Calm your butt down, Amy. It’s not a big deal. I’ve got nothing major going on at the moment.”

Amy takes a deep breath.

“I still don’t get why.”

“This is the good part,” Jake answers, probably grinning. “I was thinking about what you said the other day about how hard it is for us spending time together while we’re keeping our relationship a secret.”

“And?”

“I thought if I pretended to be sick we could hang out at my place,” he finishes, sounding immensely pleased with himself.

Amy holds a hand to her head.

“But I still have work,” she reminds him in confusion.

“Well…”

“I am _not_ skipping work to meet up with you, if that’s what you’re getting at,” Amy warns.

Jake makes a disgruntled sound down the line.

“You don’t have to _skip_ work exactly…”

“Then what?”

“Okay so you have to go out anyway, right? For that mugging case? You have to go to the victim’s house and get them to sign some paperwork.”

Amy can’t help her brow from wrinkling.

“How do you know what I’m doing today?”

“Because, despite what you think, I actually pay attention sometimes,” Jake replies sounding exasperated.

Amy bites down her lip to suppress a warm smile.

“Not bad, Peralta,” she allows.

“So anyways, you go and do that, but then instead of heading back to the precinct… you come and see me,” Jake finishes his plan happily.

“Jake –”

“Technically you’re not skipping work because you will have done your work.”

“Yes but protocol says that I should go back to Holt to be assigned a new case,” she exhales deeply.

“Screw protocol,” Jake dismisses. “I need you _here_.”

Amy taps her foot against the pavement, unsure of what to do.

“I can’t just give myself an afternoon off of _work_ –”

“No one has to know!” Jake insists. “Just tell Holt you had to spend the afternoon with the victim because they were so shaken. No one will ever know otherwise!”

Amy knows it’s insane to be considering doing something so… _unlike_ her. How is she going to make Captain someday if she doesn’t take her job seriously? But Jake does have a point in that it’s unlikely anyone will find out. She digs her nails into the palm of her hand, conflicted.

“I don’t know…”

“Come on, Santiago, do something a little crazy,” Jake proposes, still sounding ridiculously animated about his plan.

Amy sighs.

“I skipped a day of high school once,” she muses. “No one ever found out but I felt so _bad_ doing it.”

“You’re not in high school anymore, Ames,” Jake reminds her. “We’re adults now. Adults with _needs_. And I need to get busy with you this afternoon before I go insane.”

Amy can’t help laughing, even though she covers her mouth with her hand to try and hold it in.

“You’re already insane,” she breathes.

“True,” Jake acknowledges.

A second of silence follows. Then another.

“Okay, fine,” she groans. “ _Fine_. I’ll go along with your stupid idea.” She can hear Jake whooping with excitement on the other end of the line. “But if I get fired because of this, I swear to God –”

“Amy. You will _not_ be fired. I promise.”

Even though it’s not exactly something he can promise, Amy takes comfort in his words.

“Okay.”

“I’ll see you later then?” Jake asks hopefully.

“You are such a bad influence,” Amy mumbles. “ _Yes_ , you’ll see me later.”

“Woo!” Jake exclaims. “I’ll be waiting.”

Amy hangs up the phone and stuffs it back into her pocket. She shouldn’t have said yes. She shouldn’t let this stupid relationship start interfering with her work. She should have some more self-control.

But, at the same time, she can’t remember the last time she felt this delightfully exhilarated.

* * *

**5 hours before.**

Amy is finished with her paperwork by two in the afternoon.

“Thanks for your help,” she smiles at the victim she’s just been discussing the case with as she steps out the door and makes her way down the front steps of her porch.

“No problem,“ the woman waves. “I appreciate everything you’re doing.”

Amy just smiles again and nods as the woman closes her front door. A harsh breeze whips tendrils of Amy’s hair around her face. She remains standing in the street for a just a moment, contemplating what she’s going to do next.

She could go back to the precinct – get a new case from Holt and finish her shift like she’s supposed to. Or she could go to Jake’s place and spend some time with him instead.

Amy clamps her eyes closed, thinking for just a moment. Do the right thing, or have some fun?

Without overthinking it, Amy sighs tiredly and sticks her arm out to hail a cab. One pulls over in no time at all and she tells the driver Jake’s address, trying to ignore the strange rush of adrenaline that she feels by breaking the rules.

She knows what she’s doing is wrong. But honestly, Amy is finding it hard to care too much anymore. She just wants to see Jake; she wants to talk about her day with him and order pizza and kiss his stupid face.

The cab doesn’t take long at all – it’s weird going to Gina’s old apartment now that Jake’s moved in. Amy can’t deny that she preferred his old place – it was bigger at least. And the massage chairs kind of ruled. But Gina’s apartment is more cost effective for Jake, so Amy doesn’t complain.

“Thanks,” she murmurs as they pull up outside the familiar building, digging into her purse to pull out enough cash to cover the journey.

Amy gets out of the cab and pulls her phone out. She has about ten texts from Jake – the most recent one reading ‘ _I’m waiting’_. She shakes her head and jogs up the stairs of the building with a small smile on her face.

When Amy finally reaches Jake’s front door, she’s only had the chance to knock once when the door is suddenly pulled open urgently. She pauses, her hand held up mid-knock, and laughs.

“ _Finally_ ,” Jake drawls, standing on the other side of the threshold.

“Eager to see me?” Amy asks teasingly.

“Get in here,” he orders, grabbing her by the waist and pulling her inside, kicking the door shut behind him as he does.

Amy laughs and pushes his hands away.

“ _Jake_ ,” she smiles up at him.

“I’ve waited for you all morning,” Jake sighs in explanation.

“It really hasn’t been that long,” Amy replies.

“It has been for _me_ ,” he argues, immediately leaning down to kiss her.

Amy doesn’t know if he’s kissing her because he wants to or because he’s trying to get her to stop arguing with him but, either way, she doesn’t mind too much. His lips are warm as always; slow and careful.

There’s just something about Jake. Something Amy can’t explain. He ignites some bizarrely explosive spark inside of her that makes her forget all of the annoying things he’s ever done to her in the past. All she can focus on is the tingling feel of his hands down her arms and his uncharacteristically gentle nature.

“I missed you this morning,” Amy admits between kisses, vaguely noticing Jake pulling his shirt over his head.

She trails her fingers down his chest; his muscles unknotting under her touch, his stomach lean and toned. There’s a scar on one side of his ribcage; a jagged streak dragging downwards. It’s so faded it must be from years ago. Amy wants to ask where he got it from but can’t seem to find her voice. The only noise that escapes her mouth is a breathy purr of pleasure.

“I knew it,” Jake grins against her lips. “I knew you would miss me.”

Amy rolls her eyes at his inflated ego but she doesn’t really mind at all. Somehow, they’ve ended up on Jake’s small couch – although she doesn’t remember how. Amy glances to her left and sees her blazer sprawled across the coffee table. She doesn’t recall taking it off but that doesn’t matter.

Jake’s hands work their way down her shirt, undoing the buttons slowly and deliberately. Amy wishes he would hurry up so she could kiss him again but he just smirks at her impatient whines.

Thinking about it, Amy realises that was probably the reaction he was hoping for.

Amy waits until he’s pulled her shirt completely off to look up at his face. She beams when she sees his bulging eyes and the expression of surprise on his face.

Amy had chosen her underwear specifically today. Her bra is fine red lace with a fancy scalloped trim around the top – there’s almost nothing to it. She knows red is Jake’s favourite colour.

“You like it?” Amy asks innocently.

“Amy Santiago,” Jake breathes, “are you trying to kill me?”

Amy just laughs but he seems to be serious.

“You should see the rest of it,” she murmurs against his mouth.

Jake’s hands are instantly around her, yanking the bottom half of her work-appropriate pantsuit off until she’s lying on the couch in nothing but the red lacy underwear set she bought the other day. There’s a matching garter around her thigh – made out of a net-like mesh and tightened around the middle. Amy tries not to blush as Jake’s eyes trail up and down her body slowly but it’s hard not to.

“Wow,” is all he mumbles.

Amy reaches forward and pulls his jeans off. It’s hardly fair that she’s the only one in minimal clothing, right? Thankfully, Jake obliges easily – he seems to be too distracted by Amy’s attire to stop her.

“You are so perfect,” Jake groans, bringing her lips up to his for a kiss.

Amy is definitely blushing now but she hopes it doesn’t show. Jake breaks away from the kiss, pulling back so that Amy is lying on her back, blinking up at him. A playful smile works its way onto Jake’s mouth and, without giving Amy a chance to ask what he’s thinking, he ducks his head down and starts kissing along length of her inner thighs.

Amy hears a strangled cry work its way out of her throat. Jake’s lips are chapped as always. His breath is hot and tickles her bare skin.

“Jake,” she barely manages to get his name out before she feels his tongue on her flesh and she squeaks.

Jake takes her garter in his teeth and slides it down her leg, flinging it aside in the most ridiculously sexy way. Amy grips onto the couch beneath her, feeling her entrance aching for his presence.

Then his hands are on her hips, peeling her tight panties downwards with such precision it’s excruciating. His fingertips are warm and careful. Amy can feel the small scrap of fabric hanging around her ankles.

Jake brings his head lower down and Amy wraps her legs around his shoulders, pulling him in closer. Amy’s entire body is trembling in anticipation. Jake’s mouth presses against her throbbing clit and Amy practically loses it; arching her back and screwing her face up. His tongue is on her in the next second, working its way around her in the most expertly blissful way possible.

She’s never felt so much pleasure in one single moment.

“God,” she moans.

In that frenzied moment of ecstasy, skipping work and ignoring protocol is the last thing on Amy’s mind. She can’t imagine anything better than spending every waking moment with Jake like this.

Even if it does mean breaking the rules.

* * *

**Jake’s apartment, 6.30 p.m.**

Jake leans back on the couch and tries to catch his breath. He doesn’t think he’ll ever get used to being in a relationship with Amy Santiago. Her kisses; so unlike any others he’s ever experienced. Her cautious touches and tormenting warmth and playful grin. Jake swears she is going to be the death of him.

Amy lies beside him, a small, satisfied smile playing on her lips. Her pants are back on much to Jake’s disappointment; her shirt halfway buttoned up as if she got tired in the middle of the process and gave up. Jake’s own shirt is tossed across the room but he has put his jeans back on.

“This was _bad_ ,” Amy comments, shaking her head.

Jake knows that she hates breaking the rules but he can’t help finding it a serious turn on when she does.

“No one has to know,” he assures her. Then he turns to her with a wink. “Besides, you love it.”

Amy rolls her eyes and doesn’t answer but she’s still smiling so Jake assumes that she agrees with him. Jake reaches over and runs his hand along her arm, feeling more content than he has for a long time.

“What are you smiling at?” Amy asks, raising an eyebrow inquisitively.

“You,” Jake replies simply.

It’s true. Every time he catches a glimpse of Amy Santiago he can’t help wanting to burst into song and dance – but he settles for grinning at her like an idiot instead, figuring that would be a little over the top.

Amy laughs under her breath, shoving him lightly.

“Since when did you get so soppy?” she mocks.

“Hey! I am just a sensitive boy,” he defends himself.

“O-kay,” Amy smirks.

He looks at her mouth and suddenly wants to kiss her again even though that’s what he’s spent the past few hours doing non-stop. Jake can’t help it. She’s just so… kissable.

But before he has the chance, there’s an abrupt thumping on his front door which makes him jump. Amy turns towards the sound, a small crease forming between her eyebrows.

“Who’s that?” she questions Jake quietly.

He just shrugs.

“I’m not expecting anyone.”

Jake ignores the knocking, instead giving into his temptation and leaning down to kiss Amy. It’s probably one of those people trying to sell him something anyway. Just as he’s losing himself in the addictive taste of Amy’s lips, he hears a voice calling through the wall and he deflates slightly.

“Jake, let us in asshole. We know you’re home!”

Amy’s eyes widen in alarm and she pulls away.

“Is that Gina?”

Jake nods grimly.

“Just ignore her. She’ll get bored,” he dismisses, trying to kiss Amy again.

“ _Jake_!” Gina’s voice is irritatingly insistent.

Amy leans back again, sighing in exasperation.

“It’s no use, she’s not going to leave,” she deduces in annoyance.

Jake groans.

“I don’t want to let Gina in!” he protests.

“You have to!”

“Fine,” Jake makes a face. “You’re going to have to hide.”

“Where?” Amy hisses, getting to her feet.

Jake jogs over to the other side of the room, grabbing his discarded shirt and throwing it back on. The knocking is getting louder. Damn, damn, damn.

“I don’t know!” he whispers back, suddenly panicked. “Bathroom?”

“Really?” Amy raises her eyebrows, unconvinced.

Gina’s whingeing grows more persistent.

“Jakey! Open up!” That’s Boyle.

“Boyle’s here too?” Amy wonders aloud.

“Just a minute!” Jake calls out. He turns to Amy. “In here,” he commands, ushering Amy into his small bathroom quickly. “I’ll get rid of them.”

She does as he says, despite not looking particularly pleased about it.

“Don’t make a sound,” he informs her through the door.

Amy doesn’t respond but Jake can imagine that she probably rolled her eyes.

Jake swiftly scans the apartment, seizing the few things lying around that belong to Amy – her cell phone, her shoes, her purse, her blazer. He bunches it all up into a ball and throws it into the bathroom where Amy is hiding. It lands at her feet.

“Hey! Don’t screw up my blazer!” she whines.

Jake just closes the door on her and rushes over to his front door. He takes a second to smooth his shirt down and take a breath before opening it with what he hopes is a genuine-looking smile.

“Hey guys,” he welcomes them, stepping aside to let the squad in.

It looks like everyone’s come round – Gina steps in first, then Rosa, Boyle and Terry. Jake gestures to his couch where they sit down.

“What are you doing here?” he inquires in misunderstanding.

“We came to see how you’re doing,” Boyle answers enthusiastically.

Jake narrows his eyes, still not getting it.

“What –”

“You don’t even look sick,” Rosa comments, crossing her arms over her chest.

_Crap_. Jake had completely forgotten about calling in sick this morning. He had been enjoying his time with Amy way too much to even bother thinking about work.

“Oh, to see how I _am_ ,” he repeats in clarification.

Boyle raises his eyebrows.

“So…?”

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Jake assures them.

“I thought it was something serious,” Terry says, frowning slightly. “It’s usually hard to tear you away from your work.”

Jake smiles falsely.

“Well, I mean I _thought_ it was serious but turns out it’s not –”

“What’s even wrong with you?” Rosa asks, glaring at him in pointed disbelief.

“Uh, I don’t actually know.”

“How can you not know?” Rosa continues to shoot him a dirty look.

“It’s… undiagnosed,” he concludes.

Jake doesn’t even know what he’s talking about. Dammit, why did everyone have to come and check on him tonight? Sure, it was sweet but it is also massively inconvenient. How is he going to get rid of them without seeming suspicious?

“Did you go to a doctor?” Boyle pipes up in concern.

“Yeah, um, they couldn’t figure out what was wrong,” Jake replies. He pauses and adds, “but the doc did say whatever it is, I’m probably contagious. So it might be best if you guys, you know…”

Jake waits until they get the message.

“No way, we’re not leaving,” Gina shakes her head. “You and I may be the same age, but on the inside you are just a child who is incapable of looking after himself.”

Jake looks at her, wondering whether he should be offended.

“Excuse me?”

“You’re like a puppy,” Gina nods sadly. “You need taking care of.”

“I bought you chicken soup and everything,” Boyle chirps enthusiastically, thrusting a plastic container into Jake’s hands. “It’s not the _best_ in town, but it does have a high chicken stock content which should help flush the illness out of your system.”

“Gee, thanks Charles,” Jake smiles politely, placing the soup down on his cluttered coffee table.

“My girls made you this get well card,” Terry says softly, leaning forward to hand Jake the A5 slip of paper.

Jake takes one look at the colourful drawing on the front and immediately feels guilty for lying.

“Aw, look at that. Tell them Uncle Jake says thank you!” he grins.

His throat feels tight suddenly. As much as he loves these people, he kind of wishes they would _leave_.

Gina pushes herself up off of the couch and takes a few steps towards Jake’s bathroom. He immediately, steps in front of her feeling flustered.

“What are you doing?” Jake questions her.

Gina just stares at him.

“I am going to relieve myself. Is that okay with you?”

“No,” Jake cries, standing between her and the door. “I mean… my bathroom is… out of order. Temporarily.”

“What?” Gina raises her eyebrows.

“Yeah, there’s a, um, burst pipe. The plumbing’s all messed up. It’s out of use at the moment.”

Gina pouts in frustration, turning back to sit down.

“I guess I can hold it,” she allows.

“Where do you… you know?” Terry probes Jake with narrowed eyes.

“Where do I what?” Jake replies, playing dumb.

“If your toilet is broken, where do you do your _business_?” Terry simplifies.

“Oh,” Jake nods. “My business. Uh, I do it…” he trails off desperately thinking of something to say. “At work. I do my business at work.”

“Gross,” Rosa mutters.

“What if you need to pee in the middle of the night?” Gina asks, her eyebrows furrowed.

“I hold it until the morning,” Jake frantically fabricates the truth. The squad still don’t look like they believe him, so Jake briskly claps his hands together and changes the subject. “But that’s enough about me! How was work today?”

Gina purses her lips in thought.

“Uneventful,” she finally decides.

“It was so quiet today without your and Santiago’s constant bickering,” Rosa comments, sounding relieved.

Jake presses his lips together, nervous by the mention of Amy’s name.

“I actually haven’t seen Amy all day,” Boyle notes aloud.

“She left around lunchtime – something about finishing up some paperwork for her case,” Terry shrugs. “She never came back.”

Jake clears his throat and looks at his shoes, trying not to seem suspicious. But as expected, it doesn’t take long for something to go wrong. Something _always_ manages to go wrong when it comes to Jake’s life.

An amused smirk appears on Rosa’s face and her stifled snort of laughter makes Terry stop talking and the rest of the group turn to look at her. Jake’s eyes narrow in perplexity. Before anyone can ask what’s going on, she holds her hand up to show the tiny pair of red lace panties that she’s gripping onto.

They’re Amy’s.

“What’s this, Peralta?”

Jake gapes and his stomach lurches.

“Uhh –” Jake chokes, his face burning. He reaches forward and snatches the underwear from Rosa’s hand, shoving it into his pocket. “Nothing. Where did you get that?”

“It was in between the couch cushions,” Rosa grins.

“Jake?” Boyle looks up at Jake, puzzled.

“I don’t know how that got there –” Jake starts.

“Oh my God, you’re hooking up with someone?” Gina interrupts in excitement. “Why didn’t you tell us?”

“Because –”

“Wait, you have a girlfriend?” Boyle asks urgently.

“Not exactly –”

“Wait, wait,” Terry interrupts, not allowing Jake to get a word in edgeways. “Did you pretend to be sick today so you could see this girl?”

Jake takes one look at Terry’s stern expression and downturned lips and immediately wishes he hadn’t let them in. This is going _terribly_.

“Wha-aat?” Jake retorts, his voice suspiciously high. “No way!”

“Jake, I’m a detective,” Terry reminds him. “I know that you’re lying.”

“We all are,” Rosa adds, one eyebrow still quirked upwards in amusement.

“I’m not,” Gina cuts in. “You don’t have to be a detective to see that Jake has skipped work for some hook-up.”

“Jake is that true?” Boyle inquires from where he sits on the couch.

Jake hangs his head, wondering how he’s going to dig himself out of the massive hole that he’s created. This is all Amy’s fault. Why did she have to leave her underwear lying around so carelessly?

Jake internally knows it’s absolutely not Amy’s fault, though. After all, he’s the one who tore her panties off and flung them across the room in the first place. What an idiot.

“Okay, so I missed _one_ day, it’s not a big deal,” he tries to laugh it off, shrugging in a what-can-you-do kind of way.

“Dammit, Peralta,” Terry sighs. “I was really worried about you. I thought you were _sick_.”

“I’m sorry,” Jake mutters in shame.

“So,” Rosa says, still smirking. It’s kind of unnerving Jake. He’s never seen her smile for so long. “Did you bone?”

Jake shakes his head at her.

“Seriously?”

“It’s a yes or no question,” she barks.

After a breath, Jake sticks his hands in his pockets and admits, “yes.”

“Go Jakey!” Boyle beams, bringing his hand up for Jake to slap in a high-five. “I can’t say I approve of the lying part, but still.”

“Thanks,” Jake smiles.

“Aren’t you going to tell us who it is?” Gina asks, glaring at him desperately.

“Oh, uh, it’s no one you know,” Jake assures them, maybe a little too quickly.

“She must have been pretty special for you to call in sick for,” Terry comments.

“What’s her name?” Rosa demands.

“It’s, um –” Jake pauses for just a second and says the first name that comes to mind, “Caramel.”

He mentally groans, wondering why he couldn’t have just picked a normal name – but, of course, his brain instantly thought of Amy’s stupid made-up codename.

“Caramel?” Rosa repeats, holding back a laugh.

“Is she a prostitute?” Gina asks, sounding genuinely concerned.

“What? No!”

“A stripper? That sounds like a stripper name.”

“ _No_ ,” Jake stresses. “She’s not a stripper. She just – her parents were hippies, okay?”

“I think it’s a nice name,” Boyle sticks up for Jake. “Interestingly, caramel can have a variety of textures. A lot of people think that there’s only the soft chewy kind or the too hard kind but they can actually come in short textures –”

“No one cares,” Rosa snaps.

“Right you are,” Boyle nods. He turns back to Jake, “so, when do we get to meet her?”

Jake tries to hide his grimace.

“I don’t know about that…”

“Vivvi and I can double date with the two of you!” Boyle suggests suddenly, the excitement in his voice irrepressible.

“I’m not sure, man,” Jake hedges. “Maybe.”

“Amy has _got_ to hear about this,” Gina murmurs to herself as she taps away at her phone. “I’m pretty wounded you’ve had a secret woman this whole time without telling me. These narks –” she gestures to the rest of the squad, “– I understand. But me? I thought we were closer than that.”

“Why are you telling Amy?” Jake questions her, ignoring the rest of her statement.

Every time someone brings up Amy, Jake’s chest grows so tight he swears he can’t breathe.

“I think she would be amused that you’re hooking up with a prostitute named Caramel, that’s all,” Gina shrugs. She taps her phone one last time and places it down on the coffee table. “I just text her.”

“Jake, what’s wrong?” Boyle’s voice sounds distant and vague.

Jake knows that his face is contorted into an expression of horror in that second as he silently prays in his head _. Please let it be on silent, please let it be on silent, please_ –

A sudden jingle of a cell phone comes from his bathroom and everyone’s heads swivel in the direction of the small room. There’s silence for a few seconds. Then –

“Was that a phone?” Rosa asks.

“No,” Jake instantly lies.

“Yes it was,” Gina argues. “I just heard a phone go off in your bathroom.”

“That wasn’t a phone,” Jake continues, “it was my new – bathroom alarm.”

“Bathroom alarm?” Terry repeats in disbelief.

Shit. Shit, shit, shit. What does he do now? Jake throat is so dry he can barely swallow. The whole group are staring at the bathroom door now, seeming intrigued.

“Is Caramel hiding in the bathroom?” Boyle guesses, his face lit up in delight.

“No,” Rosa interrupts, still looking completely mystified. “That was… Amy’s phone.”

Jake sees one last opportunity to save his ass and grabs it with both hands.

“Oh, did I forget to say? Yeah, I’m looking after Amy’s phone for her until she gets back from –”

“Bullshit,” Rosa interrupts, getting to her feet and marching over to the bathroom door.

Jake follows her, trying to yank her backwards but, _damn_ , Rosa is strong. She shakes him off and grabs the bathroom door handle.

“I wouldn’t do that –” Jake warns desperately but she doesn’t pay him any attention.

The door is pulled open.

Amy is standing in the bright room; her eyes wide and horror-stricken, her hair a mess and her mouth half-open. Her cheeks are flushed pink. Jake just looks at her apologetically, wincing. Rosa’s jaw drops open. Amy’s cell phone is clutched in her hand tightly; the screen lit up to display Gina’s recent text.

“Shit,” she squeaks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please tell me if this is totally ooc and sucks omg i tried i'm sorry


	7. Chapter 7

**99 th Precinct, 9.30 a.m.**

Jake’s already sitting at his desk by the time Amy arrives at the precinct the next day. She purposefully left at the last minute and gets there slightly late; dreading, for the first time ever, going into work.

The second she enters, Amy feels like turning and walking straight out again. Jake tries to catch her eye but she avoids his gaze, instead staring at the scuffed leather of her work shoes. Amy feels like the entire precinct is staring at her. She swallows and sits down at her desk, risking a peek over at Jake.

He returns her look, his expression sympathetic.

“Hey Caramel,” Gina’s voice is suddenly audible from behind Amy, a thick edge of sarcastic mocking. “How you doing this morning?”

Rosa saunters into the precinct at that moment, snickering at Gina’s comment and wolf-whistling the second she sees Amy.

“Cut it out guys,” Jake protests while Amy’s face burns scarlet.

“That is completely inappropriate in the workplace,” Amy snaps in mortification.

Rosa and Gina take no notice of her stern words though – continuing to smirk in amusement.

All of a sudden, Captain Holt appears, making his way through the group of immature detectives. Amy feigns a professional smile when she sees him but it falters when she notices his brow furrowing at Rosa’s wolf-whistle.

“Detectives,” Holt nods as he walks past. “What was that about?”

“That?” Amy repeats, slightly flustered. “That was just, uh –”

“Just a private joke, sir,” Jake finishes for her, with a false grin.

Amy breathes out in relief when Holt nods and continues towards his office without another word. _God_. How is she going to make it through the day when she already feels like leaving at nine thirty in the morning?

Amy pulls out the new case that’s sitting at the top of a pile on her desk, flicking open the report to read the details and sighing exhaustedly. She can’t stop thinking about last night. It had been a _nightmare_.

Even before the squad had found out about her and Jake, she knew they were in trouble. Terry, Rosa, Boyle – they’re all detectives. They were bound to notice at some point. Honestly, what was she _thinking_?

And then Rosa had gone and found her…discarded clothes. It had gone downhill from there, really.

She still can’t believe she had been found hiding in Jake’s bathroom like some kind of rebellious teenager. The truth became pretty clear after that without anyone needing to say anything.

Boyle had been beside himself with joy. Apparently he was the one who had been trying to convince Jake to admit his feelings to her in the first place.

“You two are _definitely_ double dating with me and Vivvi,” he had decided. “She already loves you Amy.”

“The idea of you two dating makes me want to throw up repeatedly,” Gina had announced, looking repulsed. “But I’m happy for you.” She had paused and added, “but it’s gross.”

Luckily, Amy’s never taken much notice of what Gina says.

Rosa claimed that she knew Jake and Amy were hooking up all along and, honestly, Amy wouldn’t be surprised if she did.

“You two were disgustingly obvious,” Rosa had frowned. “Everyone knew.”

Amy was mostly embarrassed to have been caught by the Sarge. Over the years, he’s become like a kind of father-figure for the squad. To be found hiding in Jake’s bathroom like that, with her clothes in a mess and her guilty expression… it was so humiliating.

Amy shuts her eyes and has to take a few breaths to stop herself freaking out about it all over again.

Terry hadn’t said anything to infer that he was disappointed, though. Actually… despite being lied to, he had ended up being pretty happy for them.

“Well, you are two of my best detectives. Your happiness means a lot to me. So, if this is what you want,” he had smiled warmly and Amy had felt herself tearing up, “I’ll allow it.”

“Thanks Sarge,” Amy sniffed.

“Yeah, thanks man,” Jake had nodded, fist-pumping Terry. “Means a lot.”

“Why didn’t you just tell us?” Terry asked, sighing.

Amy and Jake had looked at each other easily.

“It was Amy’s idea,” Jake decided, dropping all of the blame onto her as usual.

“I just didn’t think it would be appropriate,” Amy confessed with a small shrug. “I don’t know. We’re really sorry.”

Rosa looked at her with a stony expression and Charles continued beaming like a madman.

“Which reminds me,” Amy’s eyes widened in alarm. “None of you are to tell Holt about this. Understand?”

She glared at each member of the squad with an unyielding sense of seriousness in her tone.

“Amy,” Terry raised his eyebrows. “Holt will found out.”

“The guy’s not stupid,” Rosa agreed.

Amy waved off their comments.

“She’s in denial,” Jake had whispered, pointing at her.

“I am _not_ ,” she growled, elbowing him in the side. “Just – no one tell Holt. Please?”

The group had nodded – somewhat reluctantly – and promised Amy that they would keep their mouths shut. They seem to have stuck to their word; Holt hasn’t mentioned anything about it. At least not to Amy.

“You alright?” Jake inquires, his voice low, snapping Amy back to the present.

He seems to be every bit as conscious as her that all of their friends are watching their every move.

Amy nods.

“Yeah. Fine.”

The report in her hand has been open for at least five minutes, though, and she hasn’t made it past the first line.

Boyle moseys over to Jake and Amy a second later, placing a cellophane bag full of small heart-shaped cookies down in between their two desks. Amy looks up at him; her face full of questions.

“I saw these at the bakery this morning on my way in – I just couldn’t resist.”

“I’m sorry, what?” she demands in a slightly harsher voice than she had been intending to use.

“ _Amaretti di Saronno_ ,” Boyle says in an Italian accent. “Made with crushed apricot kernels for fuller flavour. They made me think of you two,” he nods in justification. “You two lovebirds.”

Amy’s mouth falls open.

“Oh,” Jake presses his lips together to hold in his laughter, “thanks.”

“No problem,” Boyle smiles, shooting Jake a thumbs up. He turns and walks back in the direction that he came in, leaving Amy awestruck.

The second he’s gone, a snort escapes Jake’s mouth.

“Cookie, honey?” he teases, offering her the bag.

Amy just scowls at him and throws a pen in his general direction.

“Shut _up_.”

This is going to be a long day.

* * *

**One hour later.**

Admittedly, Amy doesn’t usually ask for help when it comes to her work. She’s always been one to prove that she is independent and capable. But when she sees Jake finish up with the case he’s working on, sitting at his desk trying to block out Gina’s constant harassing taunts, Amy can’t help but feel bad for the guy.

Honestly, this is kind of why she was reluctant to tell the squad about her relationship with Jake in the first place. For a bunch of professionals, they can be extremely _childish_.

“Hey,” Amy calls to Jake, smiling when he looks up. “You wanna help me with this?”

Jake immediately looks puzzled as if he can’t work out whether Amy’s playing a trick on him or not.

“You want _my_ help?”

Amy has to force herself not to sigh at his attitude.

“Yeah.”

“If you want to make out with me you just have to say so,” Jake grins. “There’s no need to make up some elaborate story –“

“Just get over here,” Amy commands, fighting a smile.

Jake hauls himself up from his chair and comes and stands beside her, leaning down over her shoulder to read her notes on her current case. Amy tries to ignore how his warm presence makes her unexplainably nervous. He smells as spicy and delicious as ever.

“So, you’ve got… a suspected stalking,” Jake says as he skims the notes with narrowed eyes.

“Yep. The victim’s initial description sounded familiar – and then I realised it’s almost the exact description of this guy –” she holds up a photograph “–who was in here the other day for anti-social behaviour.”

Jake’s expression turns serious.

“Where is he now?”

“That’s the thing – he was released with a warning,” Amy’s lips pucker in irritation. “I was thinking I would go talk to the victim and get her to clarify whether or not this is the guy. At least then we know for sure whether or not to pursue him.”

Jake nods.

“Good idea.”

Amy spins around in her chair, smiling up at him.

“That’s where you come in,” she informs him.

Jake’s eyebrows shoot up. He knows how possessive Amy can be over her cases.

“You want me to come with you?” he wonders aloud, reading her expression. Amy nods but Jake still looks confused. “Are you sure?”

“Don’t you want to get out of here?” she says, pointedly gesturing to Gina who is currently taking photos of Amy and Jake on her iPhone.

“Gina, what are you even doing?” Jake calls over to her.

“I want to document every moment of your relationship,” Gina explains, not taking her eyes off of the phone screen. “When it ends disastrously, I want to be able to remind you of the good times.”

“No you don’t,” Amy rolls her eyes. “You just want to annoy us with it.”

Gina doesn’t answer which makes Amy’s eyes roll again in irritation. Jake just stares at Gina looking baffled.

“So?” Amy prompts, nudging Jake and glancing towards the door.

“Sure, let’s go,” he agrees, grabbing his jacket and walking with her to the exit of the precinct.

Amy follows him, grabbing the case file on the way.

She pauses when Rosa calls out after them, “where are you two going together?” with a heavily suggestive undertone to her words.

“It’s none of your business,” Amy retorts.

The second the words have left her mouth, though, Amy realises that it sounds like she’s lying.

“Definitely going to have sex,” Gina decides, joining in the conversation.

Jake just laughs, seeming to be amused by the whole thing. Amy – less so. She knows there’s a threatening scowl on her face but she can’t help it. Holt is _right there_ in his office. What if he hears them?

“We’re just following up on a lead –” Jake tries to explain.

“It’s for a _case_ ,” Amy amends, noticing that the Sarge is looking at her doubtfully. “Honestly, it is!”

Terry nods, holding his hands up.

“I trust you Amy.”

Amy lets out a frustrated groan.

“Has everyone here gone insane?” she mutters in anger, pushing past Jake and stomping out of the building.

Jake runs after her, nudging her gently to try and cheer her up. Amy doesn’t say anything; clambering into the driver’s side of the police car and slamming the door shut behind her. The second Jake is sitting down, Amy reverses out of the car lot and pulls out into the street, her fingers gripped tightly to the steering wheel.

“Hey, are you okay?” Jake asks tentatively, sounding genuinely concerned.

“I just don’t get why it’s such a big deal that we’re hooking up,” she huffs, pressing her foot down on the accelerator.

Amy knows her way to the victim’s house easily enough; she doesn’t live too far from Amy’s own apartment.

“Is that all I am to you?” Jake asks, holding a hand to his heart and pretending to be offended. “Just some hook up?”

Amy rolls her eyes at him and supresses a smile.

“But they’re making things so awkward,” she continues in a whine.

The accelerator pedal inches closer to the ground. Amy can see Jake tensing up beside her.

“Hey, Ames, maybe you should slow down a little…” he suggests sounding anxious.

“I’m a cop,” she replies. “I can drive as fast as I like.”

Jake laughs under his breath.

“Actually, I don’t think that’s how the law works –”

“Stop arguing with me,” Amy cautions. “I know what I’m doing.”

Jake does as he’s told, closing his mouth for a minute and sitting back in his chair. Amy glances out the window. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath when they stop at traffic lights.

“I don’t know why you’re letting them get to you,” Jake finally says softly.

“Because!” Amy explodes. “They treat our relationship as a joke!”

“They mean well,” Jake defends with a shrug. “Come on, Amy, they’re your friends.”

“I know they are,” she mumbles.

“Then what’s going on with you? I know it was kind of embarrassing last night but, come on, they’ll have forgotten all about it by next week.” Jake pushes her lightly, trying to get her attention. “What’s wrong?”

Amy opens her mouth and then closes it again. Jake’s right, of course. She knows that the squad aren’t meaning to upset her (give or take Gina). But Amy can’t help it. She’s been on edge ever since they all found out about her and Jake.

Admittedly, it was not the way she pictured them discovering the truth. But, awkward reveal aside, she just feels… out of her depth.

Because, honestly? She’s never liked a guy as much as she likes Jake. And she’s so afraid she’ll mess it up by scaring him off or doing the wrong thing.

“Nothing,” Amy tells him eventually, her voice quiet. “I’m fine.”

* * *

**Victim’s apartment, 10.45 a.m.**

Jake still isn’t one hundred percent sure why Amy brought him along with her on this case. He could easily have started working a new case of his own – and it’s not like Amy needs his help. She’s a perfectly efficient detective.

But, still, he is grateful to get out of the precinct for a little while. And he’s never going to turn down spending time with Amy.

The brakes on the car screech as Amy pulls up outside a small house with an overgrown front garden. Jake still can’t figure out why she’s so tense. She’s been acting so strangely today, especially around Holt. Jake knows that Amy doesn’t want Holt to find out about them but she’s taking it to new levels. It’s almost like she’s… embarrassed to be dating him.

Whatever. Jake doesn’t care. He just wishes Amy didn’t look so miserable.

“This the place?” Jake asks, squinting up at the house.

“Mrs Williams,” Amy confirms. “Claims that she’s being stalked.”

“Right,” he nods. “Shall we?”

Amy grabs her file from the backseat, pushes the car door open and gets to her feet. Jake tags along behind, running up to the front door and knocking. There’s a series of clicks and the jingle of locks being undone.

The door opens a moment later, a middle aged women with a mess of red hair standing with a timid smile on her face.

“Mrs Williams?” Jake checks.

“That’s me.”

“We’re from the NYPD. My partner here is investigating your stalker and we need to ask you a few more questions. Would it be alright if we came in?”

“Of course,” Mrs Williams nods, holding the door wider.

Jake moves aside and holds a hand out, grinning at Amy.

“Ladies first.”

Her frown softens slightly as she steps past him over the threshold

“I can’t understand how scary it must be to have someone stalk you,” Amy begins, trying to make the victim feel comfortable as she slowly walks through the house. She holds up her notes. “It says here that you can’t think of anyone who it could be?”

Mrs Williams shakes her head.

“No. I can’t.”

“Are you sure?” Jake joins in. “No enemies? People who might want to make your life hell? Come on, there’s got to be _someone_.”

Mrs Williams looks mildly horrified and Amy’s expression is similar as she hits Jake with her file.

“Jake!” she hisses. “I’ll handle the questions.”

“Jeez, I was just asking,” Jake says exasperatedly.

“I was wondering,” Amy continues, pulling a small photograph out of her folder and paying Jake no attention. “Do you recognise this man at all?”

Mrs Williams inspects the photo and practically flinches.

“Yes. Yes, that’s him.”

Amy nods grimly, slipping the photo away.

“Thank you,” she mumbles. Then, turning to Jake, she starts to speak but never quite gets the words out.

There’s a sudden clatter from the back garden, followed by a smash. It sounds like a plant pot fell over. Jake edges towards the door.

“Is there anyone else in the house with you?” he questions the woman standing a few feet away from him.

Mrs Williams shakes her head.

“Do you have any pets?”

“No.”

Jake glances at Amy and takes a few steps closer to the door. There’s a flurry of movement and a shadow.

“I think someone’s out there,” he breathes.

“Oh my!” Mrs. Williams gasps, gripping onto the wall beside her to steady herself. “Do you think it could be…?”

“Possibly,” Amy nods, carefully making her way through the back door. “I’ll check it out.”

As much as Jake hates to see Amy head into a potentially dangerous situation alone, he’s well aware that she is capable of looking after herself. She’s the best cop he knows. (Not including himself, obviously).

“Anything?” Jake whispers, peeking his head out of the door.

“NYPD, get on the ground!” Amy is suddenly yelling and Jake doesn’t hesitate; sprinting outside to join her, yanking his gun from his holster and holding it out in front of him.

The figure of a man clad in dark clothing disappears around the corner.

“Is it him?”

“Yeah,” Amy cries, pushing Jake back inside, “he’s running! Go around!”

Jake does as she says, running through the house and re-emerging through Mrs Williams’ front door. He jogs down the steps leading up to her house. Once he’s back in the street, Jake tears down the sidewalk, pulling his walkie-talkie out from his belt and bringing it to his mouth.

“Anything?” he pants.

“He’s turned around – heading your way,” Amy barks, nowhere near as out of breath as he is.

“Crap,” Jake mutters, stuffing the walkie-talkie away.

He turns a corner into the next street and there he is – the alleged stalker that he and Amy have been looking for. The perp hurries forward, heading straight towards Jake. He’s looking over his shoulder every few steps; clearly trying to get away from Amy.

Jake continues to run towards him, grinning when the stalker sees his police badge and groans.

“Where did you come from?” the perp wails, turning back around and advancing in the direction he was just coming from.

“I came from your worst nightmare!” Jake shouts after him breathlessly.

Amy rounds the corner then – her face red from running and her chest heaving. The perp seems so intent on getting away from Jake that he barely registers Amy pull out her baton and strike his knee with it. Jake hears a yelp of pain and can’t help grinning.

Jake jogs over to them feeling relieved that they actually caught the guy. Amy’s expression is fierce as she yanks the perp to his feet and throws him against the nearest wall, seizing a pair of cuffs from her holster and slapping them shut against his wrists.

“NYPD, you’re under arrest,” Amy practically snarls. “You have the right to remain silent, when questioned anything you say or do can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to consult an attorney before speaking to the police and to have an attorney present during questioning now or in the future.”

Jake shakes his head as Amy reads the perp his rights, noticing the way her breaths are irregular and heavy. Partly recovering from the chase, partly unsteady with elation. Jake knows the feeling. And although her face is severe looking, Jake can see the sparkle of happiness in her eyes that she managed to close yet another case.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Amy asks, noticing Jake’s gawking.

“You look ridiculously hot right now.”

Amy reaches over to kick him in the leg.

“Not in front of the perp,” she complains but Jake can tell she’s trying not to smile and she’s blushing faintly.

Jake just laughs, ignoring the pain in his shin. (Damn her leather work shoes – they’re rock hard).

“I can’t help it.”

Amy smiles and looks away for a moment.

“Sorry I’ve been acting kind of crazy today,” she says.

Jake takes a step closer. Her hands are busy holding the perp in place so he takes her face in his careful grip instead.

“You’re always crazy,” Jake tells her. “Don’t worry about it.”

Amy sticks her tongue out at him and Jake chuckles.

“But seriously, are you okay?”

“Yeah I’m fine.”

Jake arches his eyebrows, not believing her at all.

“Really?”

“I _am_ ,” Amy insists. “I guess it just freaked me out a bit. Everyone knowing about, you know, _us_.” She sighs. “I suppose I’ll just have to get used to it.”

Jake grins and leans in to kiss her. Amy seems to forget all the perp who is standing uncomfortably close to them as she smiles against his mouth and presses her lips against his forcefully. It’s a short kiss, nothing too inappropriate. Jake touches his lips to hers once last time before pulling away.

“Good,” he nods. “Because angry Amy was kind of a bummer. I mean, she was _hot_. But still not so much fun to be around.”

Amy purses her lips with a smile. Jake laughs at her insulted expression.

“Okay, for that, you can do all the paperwork for this case –”

“What?” Jake’s jaw drops. “ _What_?! No! Come on! I’m sorry! Detective Santiago, you are the best police officer I know.”

Amy chortles and rolls her eyes.

“Fine. I won’t make you do the paperwork.”

“Thank you, darling,” Jake smiles sweetly.

“Enough with the pet names,” Amy orders, smirking.

“You love it.”

She ignores him.

“Now, go and get Mrs Williams and tell her we need her at the station to give a statement. And then bring the car around so we can take this one –” she gestures to the dejected perp standing behind her “– to the holding cell to be processed.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Jake nods, saluting her and hurrying down the street in the direction of Mrs Williams’ house.

Jake thinks about Amy as he heads back. Her determined expression whenever she’s on a case and the unwavering _need_ to catch the perp. She never seems to give up. It’s one of the many things he loves about her.

Jake can’t help smiling. Not only is Amy the most amazing girlfriend – she’s also the best partner he’s ever had.

* * *

**Captain Holt’s Office, 12.05 p.m.**

It’s hard to tell for sure, but Amy thinks she can see the shadow of a smile on Holt’s face. One corner of his mouth is tugging ever so slightly upwards.

Jake stands beside her in Holt’s office with his arms folded across his chest looking smug. They just got back from returning with the perp not too long ago and, Amy has to admit, it feels pretty good. She’ll never get tired of the light-headed feeling of exhilaration every time she arrests a bad guy.

It was pretty nice to do it with Jake by her side, too. Not that she’s going to admit that to him any time soon.

And ever since they’ve been back at the precinct, not a single person has made a comment about her and Jake’s romantic involvement. Well, Gina said something about sexual tension, but Amy wasn’t really listening. The Sarge and Boyle just congratulated them on their find – even Rosa had refrained from saying something mean. It felt kind of awesome.

Amy doesn’t know why she had been freaking out so much before.

“Congratulations on the bust today,” Holt nods.

“Thank you, sir,” Amy beams, unable to suppress her happiness.

Holt’s recognition means the world to her and Jake knows it. She sees him smiling.

There’s a brief moment of silence while Holt assesses the two of them.

“So,” the Captain begins. “I gather the two of you are… together now?”

Amy’s mouth drops open and her eyes bug. Jake just laughs.

“Who told you?” she exclaims. Jake only seems to laugh harder when he sees Amy’s horror-stricken expression. She shoves him as hard as possible. “Can it, Peralta.”

“Hey, no need to get violent,” Jake protests.

“Was it Gina? I bet it was. God, I’m going to kill her –”

“No one told me,” Holt interrupts. “You seem to have forgotten that I am a detective. I figured it out for myself.”

Amy shuts her mouth and gulps. This meeting really isn’t going to plan.

“Sir, I am so sorry for not telling you –”

“I wanted to tell you but Amy forced me to keep quiet,” Jake cuts her off.

“No he _didn’t_ ,” Amy cries in outrage, hitting Jake again.

Holt almost smiles again. It’s eerie to seem him looking so amused. But, then again, Amy is better at reading him that anyone else.

“Whatever your reasons, you know this kind of thing has to be authorized.”

Amy nods, lowering her head in shame.

“Yes, sir.”

“I’ll go and get the forms of fraternization,” he tells them.

“You mean… you’ll allow it?” Amy lets out a small, hopeful gasp.

“Of course he’s gonna allow it,” Jake dismisses, adding in a whisper, “I’m his favourite.”

“No you’re not,” Amy retorts, screwing her face up into a frown.

“I will allow it,” Holt nods, seeming pleased. “You two make a good team.”

“At work _and_ in the bedroom!” Jake cries with a grin, throwing his hand up for Holt to high five. “Up top!”

Holt remains still until Jake’s hand drops. Amy growls at Jake under her breath and feels her face heating up in embarrassment.

“I’m so sorry about him,” she mutters through gritted teeth.

“You’re both dismissed,” Holt says simply, returning his attention to the paperwork on his desk.

“Thank you, sir,” Amy utters as she leaves his office, dragging Jake along with her.

Her cheeks are still pink from Jake’s stupid bedroom comment but she tries to ignore it.

“You’re an idiot,” she tells Jake the second Holt is out of earshot.

“I know,” Jake answers, smiling. He walks behind Amy and gives her a quick kiss on the cheek.

She pauses and watches him as he strolls back to his desk, trying to hide the tiny, secretly pleased smile that has appeared on her face.

Maybe dating Jake Peralta isn't going to be so bad after all. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it for this fic! I really hope you enjoyed this I am so grateful of all the feedback and messages I have had in response to this! It's been so much fun to write!! I will definitely be writing some more Jake/Amy fics soon.
> 
> Come talk to me on tumblr, twitter and FF.net my username is everhtorne for all ^_^


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